The Edge of Power
by Tealfrog26
Summary: Link and Zelda desperately try to finally escape the burning, crumbling remains of their beloved Hyrule Castle town. Kirby wakes up aboard the Halberd, remembering Pikachu's final words.
1. The Storm

This is a reworking of my old story The Edge of Power aptly named Edge of Power. You can view the old one at any time, but it's not written well. However, that being said, it was 5 years ago and that made me an immature, underdeveloped 13 year old punk.

Now, being an 18 year old punk, I feel I can extract my old vision for this awesome story that I conjured up and rewrite it the way it was meant to be written, so hopefully I can do myself justice.

And no, I'm not being pretentious, I just really deserve all my praise I've been giving.

For what it's worth though, I really believe you'll enjoy this, I know I do.

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**The Edge of Power**

"Many years ago, in a time of chaos and confusion, two stark white-gloved hands came forth and cast a disturbance amongst the land. Followed by an army of wire framed beings, homes were burnt down, towns were demolished and many people were killed. Wherever the hands went, fear struck those around. The witnesses of the destruction prayed their last prayers. The worlds across the galaxy were rapidly being conquered by this new menace. They brought anguish and misery in their wake, and no one seemed able to stop them. But in the midst of it all, a small band of heroes from all through the galaxy, from different backgrounds and different specialties emerged to ward off this evil. Each with their distinct differences, they resolved the White Hands must not be allowed to reign over their homes any longer and were determined to bring peace back to the galaxy."

"Forcing back the dastardly White Hands, the heroes started to win small victories on their planets. Soon the Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule, Kanto, and other major Hand strongholds were liberated, and the galaxy began to refer to this small band of heroes as the Super Smash Brothers. Gaining momentum, the heroes fought their toughest battle yet, on Pop Star. But their losses were not in vain, for they learned the weakness that could bring down the Hands. When together, the White Hands were too powerful, so the "Smashers" would have to attack them separately. Fueled by their newfound spirit, they split into two groups and struck at the opportune moment. Each group fought valiantly to defeat their common foe. Blow after blow they soon lost their control and power. Slowly but surely the Hands fell to the might of the Smashers and could do nothing to stop them separately. After the Hands were defeated, the heroes used six crystal shards to lock away their devastating power. Each shard was respectfully placed on each peninsula of Pop Star and the final at the Fountain of Dreams, lying in the middle of the others."

"The menaces were defeated and the entire galaxy celebrated. The reign of the Hands had finally come to an end. Each member of the Super Smash Brothers went back to their home planet and enjoyed the first day of freedom. But the Smashers would not stay together. The heroes quietly withdrew back to their old lives. After that, no one ever saw the former heroes again, but some say they still are around keeping a watchful eye on their worlds."

"Wow that was a great story Mario," exclaimed an ecstatic little toad. Around him were other young toads all listening to every last word of the story. Mario got up from his chair and put the story book back on the shelves of the daycare center.

"Yes, I liked it too," Mario answered back to the toddler, "Unfortunately I have to get going."

"No, No! Don't go! Wead us anotha' stowy!"

Outside, fireworks were blasting off in the night time sky to commemorate the five year anniversary of the Smash Brothers triumph over the White Hands. On the streets were parades full of ribbons, banners, confetti, balloons; all signifying the peoples freedom.

"I think it's getting a tad too late, it's almost eight o'clock." Mario patted the little toad's head and looked over to find his brother, Luigi, who was supposed to have met him there ten minutes ago. No sign of him yet. Mario figured Luigi had got caught up in the festivities and looked for the day-care assistant.

Breaking the silence, a small toad asked, "Are you one of the Smashers Mr. Mario?"

Mario was surprised, and answered casually, "No…I'm just a plumber. Where would you get that idea?"

"My mommy says the Princess was one of them too, and you are her friend, so I thought you must be one too."

Mario didn't particularly like lying, and liked lying to children even less, but knew the repercussions that would come should it be revealed he was one of the fabled heroes. The fame, the money, the power, it wasn't something Mario and the others fought for. At least it wasn't something Mario wanted. He couldn't have stood by and watched the Hands take over all he held dear.

Mario laughed, "Well, we all have our suspicions. For all I know, you could be a Smasher yourself!"

"Mr. Mario…!"

Mario ruffled his hair, said good bye to the kids, and walked out of the building. The festivities were still going strong; explosive fireworks filled the air like sanguine bombs, and the streets were lined with a steady, forceful march of strength and power. Waiting on the street corner near the day-care, Mario took off his hat, flowing his hands through his hair. Mario was still thinking about his brother. The two had agreed to meet their partners Princess Peach and Princess Daisy and quietly celebrate the event, away from the rest of the commotion. However, it was now nearing half an hour from the time Mario agreed to meet Luigi. Mario decided to go check home when he felt a drop of water fall upon his head. Looking up, dark clouds were moving into the sky. More raindrops began to fall as a sudden gust of wind threatened to blow the hat from Mario's hand.

Mario fitted his hat neatly back onto his head and mumbled, "Looks like a storms a comin'."

He ducked down and jogged through the rain back to his home.

_**The City of Dreams, center of Pop Star**_

It was now early in the morning as the fiery sun had just come up, and Kirby was sound asleep. The short, pink hero was living modestly on the second floor in an apartment complex, with the advertised scenic view of the Fountain of Dreams out his window. He had told the landlord he had just loved the view, but was there only for one reason, to protect it. In fact, the view was less than satisfactory, for a hill obscured one side of the fountain, and the more expensive and more renowned hotel down the road blocked the other side. It was little concern to Kirby, for he liked the shade the said hotel cast upon his residence. So the city casts a shadow upon its hero? Kirby felt it ironic. Nevertheless, he wanted to remain that way, a life of luxury was something that never appealed to him. What did was food and sleep.

He was abruptly awakened by a loud explosion coming from a few blocks down. He sat up groggily and looked around. He could hardly believe the celebration was still going on. He checked his clock; four thirty three. The sun shone in, showcasing the remnants of last nights dinner strewn across the ground. Kirby mumbled some profanities and threw his blanket over him. Another explosion erupted, and managed to shake the foundation of the apartment. Tossing the blanket off him, Kirby sat up again, looking once again at his ground. Noticing the sun again, Kirby rubbed his eyes to try to clear his vision.

"Why is there sun…where's my shade…" Kirby said, half indignantly and half asleep.

Getting up, Kirby stumbled over to his window as another explosion sound off nearby. What sounded like gunshots could now be made out in the distance, as well as screaming and shouting. Kirby looked out, and squinted through the sun to see the hotel across the road in front of him was blown apart. People were running out the doors and into the streets where a mob of men with guns and uniforms were herding them up. He could also see soldiers heading toward the Fountain of Dreams.

"Oh…crap." Kirby looked around his room, trying to figure out what to do. More explosions close by made Kirby look again outside. On the far side of the fountain, a jet soared by, over and past his apartment. Then another explosion on the far side of the fountain, and another closer, and again another closer. There were bombs being dropped in a line, closer and closer to his building.

Slowly backing away, Kirby was stunned.

"Oh no…oh no no no…"

Another explosion, and another.

"Uh…uh…" Kirby looked for his door to get out when loud banging could be heard on it, from the hallway outside.

Another bomb, landing closer. The apartment began shaking; the bombs would land on his building in seconds.

"Open the door!" A harsh voice could be heard from the hall, "Now!"

"Shut up!" Kirby yelled, looking for a way out. He saw into his bathroom, a small window, "That'll do."

Kirby ran for the window, jumped up and as he was crawling out the final bomb hit his building. The impact lifted Kirby through the air, out his window, and sent him sprawling through the air. Landing over forty feet away, Kirby poked his head up through the rubble. His ears were ringing from the explosion.

"Gahh! Not a good day…" He said to himself, getting up and shaking off the dust. Running down the alley, Kirby got into view once again of the Fountain of Dreams, still surrounded by soldiers and still unsure on what he was going to do. He now looked up and saw behind him a huge ship, at least ten football fields in length. Kirby let out a breath in exasperation. _What is going on…?_ he thought. One thing was for sure, he would have to get out of there. But right when he turned around, a squad of men were there, pointing there guns toward him. One of them spoke something into the radio, but Kirby couldn't hear.

Kirby slowly raised his hands in the air and spoke to them, "Listen boys, just ease up…I'm just a-". Just then another explosion shook the ground and Kirby spun around to make an escape. However, as he turned, he ran right into something—or someone. Someone much bigger, and much hairier. Kirby was spun back around and held into place by his obstruction. His hands were like that of an ape.

"Ok, ok…I give, just let me-" Kirby was cut off by a gun butted into his face, knocking him out cold.

"Let's take him back to the mother ship with the rest of em' for interrogating," said who was holding Kirby.

"Roger that, sir." The soldier saluted him and radioed the ship hovering above the city that the prisoner was coming aboard.

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Review please, I want the feedback. I've signed up on the website 5 years ago, I think I'm entitled to some criticism.


	2. Light and Dark

_Six years ago…_

"_At this…oint…e are uns..re…as to the amount of casual..ies"_

_He sat alone in his cave. In the deepest depths, farthest from any human interaction, resided Mewtwo. It was dark in his den. Completely void of light if he wanted. Mewtwo himself, however, resolved for light. From what little he could find on the outskirts of Cerulean City, he erected in his cave: oil lamps, neon signs, battery powered lanterns, even torches. If there was any potential for light, it was within his dark home. _

_Potential is what he judged his opinions on. He was an experiment, created by humans. His potential was almost unlimited. And here he was. _

_Humans. The cause of everything. The reason for everything. The forerunners of death. Never was there anything so despicable than humans. Never since the beginning of time. Time. It was time._

_A radio was picking up a weak signal down in his darkness. Obscured by the layers of rock guarding him from society. _

_Society..._

"_Johto has been…..cupied by the…,"the Radio crackled on, Mewtwo aiming his focus back to it, "The White Hand…rmy continues i…march past Mt. Silver…pected to meet….Kanto arm…tonight…"_

_Mewtwo picked up the radio and hurled it at the stone cold wall behind him, silencing the noise. It broke into pieces upon the hard rock floor. Mewtwo smashed his hands into the wall. Blood dripping from his hands. His mind swelled with anger. His heart beat with anger. He opened his mouth to scream. Nothing would come out. His throat was dry._

_Time…A few hours and they would be in Kanto. Time…_

_Time for what?_

"It's time to go!" Yelled an anxious toad to his partner over his headset, "Fox?"

"Yeah, I got it. No need to yell Slippy." Fox looked up from his seat in his Arwing up at the Great Fox. Slippy's voice was coming from the cockpit.

"Right, just making sure the mic works!" Slippy responded back, loudly.

"Yeah, yeah…just settle down will you?"

Fox was driving back to his ship. It was a typical observe and report mission from the "big wigs" back in Corneria. General Pepper always kept Fox and his crew to work, no matter how peaceful things got. It was early in the morning; 7:24 AM read the dashboard clock. Fox did not enjoy waking up early, especially the morning after White Hand Defeat day, or WHD day as the majority of the public called it now. He had been out with his crew until late, Slippy, Peppy, Falco and ROB. Even Samus had made an unexpected visit the night before and joined in on the celebration aboard the Great Fox.

The Great Fox was truly a spectacle to be seen. A Dreadnaught-Class Heavy Cruiser, the only one known of its kind, measuring roughly three thousand feet by twelve hundred and equipped with dual laser cannons capable of tearing through almost any armor. Its shields could endure long and hard, the warp drive could register in less than thirty seconds if need be, and now even carried a tractor beam to transport cargo or small ships. And even still, if the occasion called for it, it could host an amazing party. One of which Fox and his crew was still recovering from.

Now it was morning, and Fox was to go check out a communication breakdown between the rest of the galaxy and his home planet of Corneria.

"How's it going down there, Falco?"

"It's all freakin' peaceful like...sir," Fox heard back from Falco's end. Fox looked to his radar to see Falco's Arwing hovering in space below him.

"Alright, the comm. station is right up ahead. ROB, can you patch us in to whoever's in charge over there?"

The station was a little larger than Fox's coveted mother ship, drifting out in the myriad of shining stars cast against the abysmal blackness of space. The darkness was like a blanket with the dim glow of flashlights breaking through the cover. To his right, the bright beacon Corneria. In front lay the space station shaped like a syringe pointed at the core of Corneria.

A click was heard over the headset, signifying an open channel to the station.

"This is Fox McCloud, we are here on behalf of the Corneria. We request access to land."

"Fox? Well I'll be damned.."

"Excuse me?" Fox recognized the voice.

"It's Wolf…we need to talk."

Wolf, the renegade ace pilot whose gang had always rivaled Fox. Taking the more discreet jobs to earn his salary, there was little Wolf wouldn't do for the extra credits.

"Wolf, what are you doing?" Fox demanded, "Where's the crew?"

"They are dead, Fox."

Falco's voice cut in, "You son of a bitch, what did you do?"

"Calm down, _I _didn't kill anyone. Not anyone you're interested in at least. Just hurry up and get in here."

"I'm reporting this in Wolf." Fox told him sternly.

"Well look at you, the cavalier, the loyal mutt of Corneria…Look kid, I'm sitting in a dead pool here so you go ahead and report me," More smugly, he added, " But you gotta be asking yourself what happened, right? Or at least a bit suspicious of a worldwide communication breakdown to the rest of the galaxy. Especially the day after…well you know."

Fox was only informed the breakdown was a local one. If all of Corneria was unable to pick up any signals from the rest of the galaxy, then…then what?

"Wolf…" Fox was unsure what to say.

Wolf laughed over the speaker, "Oh ho…Really Fox, we do need to catch up. You're going to love what I have to tell you. If you want to keep Corneria safe, get in here."

The headset clicked. Wolf had ended the relay.

"What the hell was that about?" Fox heard from Falco.

Fox didn't answer. He didn't like where this was headed.

"Go back to the Great Fox and notify General Pepper," Fox ordered his partner. He paused, then against his conscience asked, "And ask him about this communication breakdown…See if what Wolf said holds any merit."

"If you think you're going in there by yourself, then no way, man, I'm not leaving you alone with Wolf, he'd tear your scrawny ass apart."

"Falco, something's not right here," Fox wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew he should take precaution, "Go."

Hesitant, Falco answered back, "Alright…Roger."

_**The Evangelizer, above Pop Star**_

Kirby fluttered his eyelids open. It was blurry. He was moving. He was being carried.

"-ansfer approved, come in."

The floor was cold and metallic. Kirby closed his eyes, wincing at the pain throbbing in his head. He was led through a door way.

"On the chair, there."

The voice was across the room. Kirby tried to make out the figure, his eyes regaining focus slowly. The walls were pallid, sterile, metal. Kirby was urged into a chair. Clean and cold. Hard. Kirby moaned as the figure walked over. Getting closer the man became clearer.

He was a large, tall man. His eyes stared down at Kirby, severe. Stabbing into his character, large eyes, stone jaw, clean shaven. His hair was dark amid his stark pale skin. His breast filled with medals and accommodations, sleeves and collar starched. He brought up his hand to unbutton his collar. His left hand was peculiarly mangled, fingers stretched and broken, bones refitted into place but the mark was still there.

"Admiral!" One of the two soldiers who escorted Kirby in saluted the man.

The admiral waved them off. Kirby looked around the room. It was oddly dim, one light hanging above in the center of the room. One door in the middle of the wall. One window spread across the opposing wall displaying the black exterior. And in one corner lay an upturned chair, an object low to the ground nearby. The man had his back turned, seeing the soldiers out. Kirby tried to get up only to notice his hands forced back to the arms of the chair, as if him and the chair were two attracting magnets.

"Quite an ingenious device, don't you think?"

Kirby looked up and saw the admiral looking at him, smiling.

"Who are you?" Kirby managed to spit out.

He smiled, and then plainly said, "No."

He walked up next to Kirby, left hand nestled in his coat pocket.

"No, you don't get to ask questions."

He was calm. Strangely, forcefully calm. Under his façade, the raw anger within. Kirby could sense it.

"So what do I get to do?" Kirby growled back.

"You get to tell me what you know about the crystal shards. Where are they?"

Kirby looked straight into his large, pale blue eyes.

"Never heard of them."

The admiral's eye twitched and he repeated, "Kirby…Do you know what has happened?"

"Kirby? I think you got the wrong guy."

"No, it's you who's got the wrong guy. I think you take me for a fool."

He pulled up a chair leaning on the wall behind Kirby and sat down in from of him.

"Let's get things straight. Across the galaxy I have sent out my army—my agents—to capture all the information upon these crystals. We have laid siege to your planet, we have extrapolated all the files there are on crystals, we have even killed for this venture."

He looked to find a reaction on Kirby's face. The admiral saw nothing.

"Even innocents. You may not believe me, but believe this. If you don't tell me where the shards are, your planet is going to sustain…casualties." He put an emphasis on his final word.

"Look man, I think you need to brush up on your history. Everything you need to know about the location of the shards can be recited by any kid walking down the streets. 'Each shard was respectfully placed on each peninsula of Pop Star and the final at the Fountain-'"

Kirby was cut off with a slap to the face.

"You are thinking me a fool again Kirby, I warn you not to do that."

Kirby coughed, then laughed and said, "What…you couldn't find them?"

The admiral was on his feet now, his voice and temper rising.

"The shards..!" He hesitated, then lowered his voice, "The shards were not there. We destroyed the Fountain of Dreams, Kirby. You can be sure there is nothing in, around, or under that old ruin now."

Kirby tried to hide his anger, but it was visible he was upset.

"And your planets peninsulas did not contain the shards either. Now if you don't want me to retract your star planet into a stubbed pentagon, you'll tell me where the shards really are."

"You can't possibly have the power to do this! Your 'army' is nothing more than a fantasy! Sure, you got a fancy ship with a few fancy fighters and some mercenary troops. But you expect me to believe you have a full fledged army?"

"I expect you, Kirby, to believe what I say." A smile returned to the admiral's face, "I expect you to believe that I have spies in every government on every planet. I expect you to believe that over the past 5 years, an army has trained tirelessly to recruit in secret. I expect you to believe…that now I have the power to do what I want! And Kirby, I expect you to believe me when I say I will destroy your planet without a moment's hesitation if I don't get what I want."

The admiral walked over to the door and beckoned for two soldiers to come in.

"I'll leave you to think about what I've said Kirby. I do hope we can come to a compromise soon. Or…"

The admiral looked toward the window. Pop Star was in view now; explosions were visible upon the planet surface. Kirby bit his lip in anger. He struggled effortlessly as the soldiers led him out of the room.

_**Communication Relay, Cornerian Airspace**_

Fox landed his ship down in the docking bay. He popped open the cockpit window as the compressed air released. There were darkened marks and ashen residue over the room, guns and other equipment spread across the metallic flooring. The remaining ships in the bay were all stripped and broken, smoke rising from some of the engines. He walked cautiously into the adjoining room, a hallway. At the end was the control deck. It was where Wolf was.

When the door opened, Wolf was sitting, leaning back in a chair at the center.

"There he is! The man of the hour, the hero himself!" Wolf jumped up from his chair and clapped his hands. "Quite a mess here isn't it?"

Fox looked around as he walked in. The white tiles were smeared with red blood, bodies of the Cornerian Guard slumped into the corners. There were at least twenty of them. Lifeless, dead.

"What is this?" Fox demanded, raising his gun at Wolf.

Wolf presented his hands to Fox casually, half laughing.

"Whoa whoa…I told you it wasn't me."

"Then who was it?"

"The White Faction."

"The what?"

"That's what they called themselves at least," Wolf lowered his arms back down. He looked at Fox who was still pointing his gun in his direction. Wolf continued.

"They got something to do with the Hands. Wanna bring 'em back or something like that. They supposedly got everything you could think of. Big ships, spies within the governments, a huge army, bombs and shit. You name it."

"And why are you here?"

"I was just flying in from my latest mission. Noticed no one was answering my requests for supplies here, so I came aboard."

"And you just stayed here, I thought you said there was no way for you to leave?"

"Oh." Wolf scratched his nose, "That's not important. What is is that we collect those shards that we used to imprison the Hands and make sure the White Faction doesn't get them."

"They're after the shards?" Fox was still trying to piece together everything that Wolf was saying.

"I know you know where they're at," Wolf said, half accusingly, "They're not really in Pop Star. But you know."

Fox was looking around the room, searching more in his mind for an answer. His gun was still aimed at Wolf.

"…No. You don't know what you're talking about." Fox started to walk backwards toward the door, watching Wolf. "I don't know what happened here, and we haven't exactly kept a trusting relationship, Wolf. I'm going back to Corneria to tell General Pepper about this."

Fox, still faced toward Wolf, reached for the door switch behind him and pressed it. Before he could turn around, Wolf responded.

"Don't do that Fox. You don't know what the big shots back home have got planned." Searching his memory for an argument, Wolf shot back, "Remember, they lied to you about the communication breakdown. Just tell me where the shards are, Fox. We have to work together now." Wolf's words were hurried and slurred.

"They lied? How…how do you know that?" Something clicked in Fox's brain, "How do you know any of this? They're all dead over there, you're the only one here."

Wolf opened his mouth, looking worried. He found no words.

"Wolf!" Fox insisted, gun fixed on him.

Fox felt something nudge the back of his head.

"Drop your weapon."

It was a gun. Wolf lowered his eyes when Fox looked at him.

"Now."

Fox did as he was commanded. He was then pushed to the ground in front of him. When he looked behind him, five soldiers were standing in there, guns fixed on him. One with a white cap, the others in helmets, all standing out brightly in their alabaster white armor.

"This is it then? I can leave?" Wolf asked solemnly to the man in the cap.

The soldier stood, unanswering.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, asshole! I did my job, now give me my money and let me go."

From behind the soldiers, another entered. Stout and obese, a pig walked past the soldiers in looking down at Fox. Fox cringed at the sight of him. He wore a space suit the same color of his pinkish skin with a large white coat covering him. His eyes beady, his smile wry, and he had his hand resting on his gun at his side, save a crooked index finger pointed awkwardly off the cartridge.

"Pigma?" It was Wolf. "What are you…?"

Wolf's demeanor had changed entirely. Pigma Dengar glanced at Wolf, then back to Fox.

"You know, when I betrayed your father, Fox, it was for the money. When I betrayed you, it was for the same reason, strictly business," he told him, "But when I was given the opportunity to betray Wolf, well…" Pigma pulled out a gun and pointed it toward Wolf.

"This time, it's my pleasure." Pigma pulled the trigger as, watching the bullet travel into Wolf's head and knocking him to the ground.

"That idiot thinks he's always got things wrapped around his finger…" Pigma looked back to Fox, "He gave me these scars you know." Pigma pointed toward the claw marks showing prominently on his forehead.

He walked over to inspect the stiff body of Wolf lying on the ground.

"He kicked me out of his team for my greed, as you know," He laughed, still focusing on Wolf. "Greed! The fool couldn't even see what a hypocrite he was. Greed…"

"What are you doing Pigma?" Fox asked coldly.

"Me? Making a buck. You, on the other hand, are needed. You have to tell us where the shards are. You wouldn't tell Wolf, but you'll tell us."

"What makes you so sure I know?"

"Fox, don't think I don't know the role you played in defeating the hands five years ago. You were one of the stars. You and Mario and Pikachu, Link…I've done my homework. Or at least Wolf did. He did his best work when you gave him a blank check."

Pigma laughed even more. Fox looked at Wolf's dead body, slightly pitying his rival.

"Oh yea, I almost forgot." Pigma waddled over to the computer monitor in the middle of the room. He typed some buttons and the screen brought up an image of an office room. Fox remembered it to be General Pepper's. Fox watched the screen, remorsefully. General Pepper was strapped to a chair, beaten and bloodied. A soldier with a gun behind him.

"I'm sorry, Fox…I'm.." General Pepper managed only to say those few words before he was shot in the back of the head.

"NO!" Fox rose up to rush toward Pigma but was pushed back down by the surrounding guards.

Pigma laughed again. "I think what he was trying to say was that he sold your crew out. See your Great Fox out there? The General kindly let us know the weak point to your Great Flop before leading you and your crew here. It turns out you guys aren't worth the destruction of Corneria!"

Pigma laughed again, longer.

"You bastard…he wouldn't! I'm not telling you anything!"

"Hahaha…Really? You would sacrifice your ship and your friends for those shards?"

"My ship is more than capable of taking on what you have to offer!" Fox retaliated, unsure if he even believed in what he was saying.

"Fine then, you know I'll love to watch this." Pigma turned toward the window. Fox did the same.

"Watch what?" Fox demanded.

Through the glass the Great Fox shook violently. Flames shot out of the openings of the ship and quickly shot back in. Another explosion. The fuselage broke off, then the wings. Another explosion tore at the great ship until another larger blast broke it in half. It was destroyed.

"You son of a bitch!" Fox struggled fiercely and escaped the grasp of the soldiers. He jumped on Pigma and began to pound into his beady eyes. Pigma only laughed sadistically as he was beaten.

Then, an explosion blew through the door leading to the docking back. It knocked back the four soldiers, lighting a couple on fire. Fox shielded his eyes as a figure ran through the smoke and debris.

"Time to go!" It grabbed Fox and quickly rushed him into the hallway. They were running fast.

"Falco?" Fox was in shock.

"Yea, we can reminisce about me saving your hide when I actually do it. For now let's get going! Whoever those guys were, they got reinforcements."

The two pilots sprinted to their ships. When Fox jumped into the seat, he looked back into the hallway, thinking of Pigma, who he left on the ground. His laughter resonated in his mind. He left him there, alive.

"Whatever's back there isn't worth it, Fox!" Falco yelled frantically buckling into his Arwing. It had snapped Fox back into reality. Fox nodded and closed the glass hatch over the cockpit of his ship. They both flew up and out of the station. Leaving Pigma behind.

_**The Evangelizer, prison cell block**_

Kirby was escorted through a door into the lowest part of the ship. A narrow walkway lay in front of them, two barred cells on either side. Another door at the other end of the hall. He was thrown into the cell to his right and the door was locked and the soldiers left. It was dark in the room, but light enough for him to see into the other cell. Two yellow rodents lay across the way, looking poor in health. As the soldier shut the door, one of the rodents' ears perked up. He struggled to raise himself and looked over at Kirby.

"Pikachu!" Kirby yelled, relieved and comforted with the sight of his old friend.

Pikachu limped up to the bars and coughed. He greeted Kirby, his voice was harsh.

"Pichu is back there too?" Kirby asked.

"Yea…he's okay." His eyelids were heavy, "So are we over Pop Star now?"

Kirby sighed, "Uh-huh. They're destroying it…What's going on here Pikachu?"

"They call themselves the White Faction from what I've gathered. I'm sure they tried to get the shards out of you, too?"

Kirby nodded.

"Well, they're obviously trying to revive the Hands…That man, I assume he interrogated you, as well…large, pale, an arrogant looking man," Pikachu looked to see Kirby nod, "Admiral Niac Trumann. Saw his name on one of the reports. It appears he's the head of these guys. Organized everything, for five years right under our noses."

Kirby could see Pikachu's fist clenched.

"So what happened to you two? Is Kanto alright?"

Pikachu shook his head, "No…It happened the morning of the fifth anniversary…"

"Hold on," Kirby interrupted, "We were attacked early morning the following day."

Pikachu just shrugged, "Maybe it just took a day to get over there. Me, Pichu, Jigglypuff and Mewtwo were taken and brought here. The other two are in the other room down there," Pikachu pointed toward the doors on the opposite side of the room, "Our country was ravaged, people were being killed left and right…We tried to do our best, but we can't take on that size of an army…"

Pikachu coughed a little more.

"We can take 'em," Kirby said. Pikachu looked up, giving Kirby an odd look, "Well, I mean, we need the whole gang back…

"What, you mean everyone? We'd have a hard enough time tracking them down let alone fighting back against these guys. We know nothing about them. Last time we were prepared."

"Well then let's get prepared again. What could be so hard about it? Unless you're really suggesting just lying down and admitting defeat?"

Pikachu showed a weak smile, "Of course not…So then our first step would be getting out of this place then, huh? Any ideas?"

"Plenty…just gotta figure out which one will stick."


	3. The Weak and the Strong

"_Alright, send for Kirby. We'll tell him the shards are on his planet." Mario looked around at the others to make sure he had their attention. His gaze stopped on Pikachu, the only one who wasn't showing eye contact._

"_We don't tell him about our plan," Pikachu shifted in his chair, and Mario directed his next statement at him, "We tell him nothing."_

_In the moment of silence after the words were spoken, Pikachu looked up and noticed the group staring at him. Feeling inclined to answer, but less inclined to agree, Pikachu nodded his head and smiled._

"_Of course," he replied, unconvincingly._

"_Pikachu, I know he's a good friend, but we need to take precautions," Mario reasoned, "the less people who know the better. Us five must keep our secrets in case something happens in the future. No one else can know without risking the preservation of the crystal shards."_

_Pikachu sighed. Tonight they would each go and hide the shard they were responsible for somewhere deep within the reaches of space._

_He had long studied ancient artifacts and lore of the galaxy, and numerous writings and texts mentioned of a "crystallized preserver". He was the one who brought it up as an idea to quell the seeming unlimited power of the Hands. For years he had immersed himself in the history of the worlds, made it his life. It was the reason his attacks against the Hands were successful on Kanto before he joined up with the rest of the Smashers. He knew of long forgotten empires and devastating armies, and he knew of their weaknesses. He had come to learn, unintentionally, a way to fight back against oppressors. _

_It was Kirby who brought up the crystal shards. Pikachu had shot the idea out a few months before, before the catastrophic War for Pop Star occurred. It was after the efforts and sacrifices of many that the Smashers were able to retrieve the six crystal shards. In the fray of Pop Star, Pikachu and Kirby had learned to trust one another. They waded through the sea of death, watching horrid atrocities that the battles had wrought. Soldiers choking on their own organs, gurgling blood up their throats, arms outstretched begging for help. The only help they received was death. Pikachu did not want to revisit those memories. He could not._

_Kirby walked into the room where the five were sitting. They all greeted him except Pikachu, who instead just looked on._

_Kirby helped him through those days, as Pikachu helped him. What Pikachu could not full heartedly agree to was leaving his friend out in the dark, even if the others did not trust him._

_As they were walking out of the room, after Mario boldly presented his lie to Kirby, Pikachu whispered to his friend, "We got to talk…" _

_Pikachu did not hold it against the others either. Link and Mario had already chosen to leave their loved ones out of the secret; Fox and Ness also would not burden their friends either. Burden, or risk? These days trust was hard to come by, disputes with Bowser and Wolf and Captain Falcon stirred tension amongst the fellow Smashers. No one in the small group of so-called heroes wanted to admit it, but they all had their own reasons for being here. Whether they knew it or not, fighting the good fight was not the common goal._

_There can be no good fight._

_There can be no heroes.

* * *

_

_**Underground, Onett **_

There were screams and yelps amongst the sounds of bombs echoing throughout the underground. They were, many of them, seeking refuge from the surface. Their city, their home, their friends and family were left behind topside. And soon the army would march down below and find them.

Ness was among the populace in the subway. The boy shifted through the crowd. The people were scared, frightened, they didn't know what to do. Ness waded through another tightly wound group of citizens, they looked like a family. The older man was holding onto his daughters, the woman sat on the ground weeping. Ness kept moving to the platform. His family was still at his home, he didn't know what to think. He didn't have time for them.

He reached the platform and climbed atop a train car. There was dust everywhere, spread about the subway like a blanket. It was still falling from the cracked ceiling. The light was scarce, the electric flickering on and off inconsistently. The wet dusty air filled his nostrils. He removed his hat and raised it above his head, waving it back and forth. He shouted.

"Hey! Everyone!"

The explosions and constant chatter drowned out his voice. No one paid him any mind.

"HEY!"

Ness looked around the crowd of people before him. He could see light shining in from the stairwell leading to the surface, barely visible behind what seemed to be an endless surge of terrified men and women. Hobbling, limping, streaming down the steps, trampling over the less fortunate with their feet. Ness saw a metal bat lying down below where he stood. He jumped down and picked it up, weighing heavily in his hands. He scrambled back up the train car and staggered over to an exposed metal support beam. He swung at it once, twice, three times. A deafening humming resonated out, vibrating the entire area.

"EVERYONE, LISTEN!"

Now everyone was covering their eyes, panicked, chaos. That was when someone noticed Ness trying to grab their attention. He pointed up toward him and grabbed another man nearby to show him what he saw. Soon, one by one, the crowd's attention turned toward the child on the train.

"It's just a kid!" The crowd screamed.

"What do you want, kid?"

"We're don't have time to hear you complain!"

"Maybe he lost his family?"

Ness put his hand up, "Everyone! Please calm down!"

More shouts from his audience.

"If everyone would just please settle down…"

Another bomb landed above and rattled the ground. Some fell to their hands and knees.

"There are bombs blowing up our town! Don't tell us to settle down!" Came an angry response.

Ness raised both his hands in the air to try and calm the crowd, "Listen, if we all just collect ourselves, we can work through this. Now there is a tunnel on both sides of us here we can use to escape. The east bound leads deeper into the fight and is probably unstable, so…"

By the time Ness had finished his sentence, the crowd had already started to spread off into both directions, frantically running away into the two tunnels. He looked on them, unsure what to do. They wouldn't listen, they were too scared. If he tried to stop the east side group, he'd just be pushed aside or trampled. Still, he didn't have time for them either. Ness scanned the group heading west, searching the heads of everyone, looking for him. He would've listened to Ness's warning. And there was no way he could search both sides of the station effectively, not at the rate these people were moving.

Ness looked back to the flight of stairs, squinting at the light bathing the stragglers. He wasn't here. There weren't any more people coming down the steps. Ness fitted his cap back on his head, lifted the bat off the roof of the car, and jumped down off the train. He would have to go back up.

_**Space, Outside Corneria**_

He turned on autopilot. The course was set; they were leaving the Lylat System.

"Maybe…maybe an escape pod released, someone could have made it out," Fox heard Falco saying, trying to reassure him.

Fox looked out at the debris of The Great Fox. It was miles away by now, but remnants could still be seen floating out in the distance. His ship was gone. His friends, gone. Even Wolf. Fox had a hard time grasping it all.

"It's possible," Fox answered meekly.

"Look, we can go down there, we could look for them on the surface. Maybe they went to Samus, she said she'd be staying there for the night yesterday, maybe she didn't leave yet."

Falco knew it was hopeless. His ship mates were surely dead, and even though they were the closest to friends he had, he was alive and aimed to keep it that way. However, Fox was more emotional and he wanted to be delicate with him.

"They killed Pepper, too," Fox said despondently, trailing off.

"Yeah, so?"

"We don't know how many troops are down there now, it's unsafe."

"Since when did we care about safety? Our guys could still be alive."

Fox thought back to Wolf. In a split second, his life was gone. A flame on a wick, snuffed out. And then Pigma's laughter. His smell. Fox could see his beady eyes. Reality had never hit him so hard.

"Falco…in all our jobs and missions, none of us has ever died. Whether it was skill or luck, we never thought we could die because we never did. Then Wolf…I was talking to him right before he was shot. He was gone before I could blink."

"Fox, you need to make a choice," Falco responded, slightly annoyed, "Do you want to search for Slippy and Peppy or ROB?"

A light flashed red on the dashboard. A beeping signaled an incoming message. Fox patched it through. It was Samus.

"Fox. What happened?"

"Samus? Are you on Corneria?" Fox asked quickly.

"Currently, yeah. I was leaving when I found your robot friend toppled over in my hangar next to my ship. His voice module is fried; he looked like he took some serious damage. When he pointed toward sky where that explosion was earlier, I knew something was wrong…Fox, was it the Great Fox?"

"…Yes."

"Is everyone alright?"

"You need to leave. Take ROB and meet us at uhh…" Fox realized that any station out in space or anywhere near Corneria was unsafe. Flying near any of them would mean death. A quick death. Real death.

"Fox?" Samus's voice crackled in his ear.

"It's unsafe there…and around here…We're leaving the Lylat System, I..I think you should..."

Falco cut in, "Samus, get in your ship, take ROB and head over to Pop Star, it's the closest planet near here. It should be safe; we'll explain everything when we get there."

"Okay," Samus confirmed, slightly suspect, "Okay."

Fox shut off her transmission. Was it guilt he felt? Regret…fear?

"Fox, you need to get your mind back here. Collect yourself, seriously." Falco said.

Fox clicked off his headset. He continued on his path to Pop Star. Wolf's death still lingered in his mind.

"God damn it Fox…" Falco muttered to himself, "You picked a hell of a time to have an emotional breakdown…"

_**The Evangelizer, Interrogation room**_

Kirby was back in a chair being questioned by the assumed Admiral Trumann. The room now held a table in front of where Kirby sat. Other than that, it had not changed from the last time, over four hours ago. The chair upturned in the corner had not moved, and it seemed a begrimed blanket was covering up whatever was slouched against the wall.

"What's that?" Kirby asked, flicking his head in the direction of the far wall.

"Someone who didn't talk," Trumann said coldly, his eyes unwaveringly focused on Kirby.

"Maybe it's because you tossed a dirty blanket over him."

Truman smirked, "Cute."

The admiral pulled up a chrome chair on the opposite side of the metallic table. He laid down a folder on the table top. He opened it and meticulously ordered five files down in front of Kirby, each presenting a portrait of one of Kirby's past comrade in arms. Mario, Fox, Link, Ness, and Pikachu, each picture staring back at him.

"You know who they are, I know," Trumann pointed to Pikachu first, "I assume you have talked to this one recently."

Kirby stared back at his interrogator. Trumann picked up the file on Pikachu and read it aloud, "Leader of the Kanto resistance during the White Hand War, allied with other fighters across the galaxy to push back the Hands…Gained famed through successful raids and tactical victories, especially during the Battle for Pop Star. Became one of five, a "Guardian", to take lead in the Super Smash Brothers. Skilled tactician and well informed historian and archaeologist. Known personal contacts, Kirby, Mewtwo, Ness."

Truman placed the file back on the table aside the other papers.

"Impressive, to say the least. A close friend of yours, too? I'm sure you had a great time catching up back in you cell," he clasped his right hand over his mangled left and winced, "But he knows where one of the shards are, and so do the rest of these 'heroes', and don't think we won't get the information out of them eventually. The question here is whether or not you want your friend to suffer."

"What are you saying? That I make him tell me where he hid the shard? That defeats the purpose of it being hidden, you know."

"You are his friend, are you not? I would not want a friend to befall any unnecessary pain if I could prevent it."

"So then after you get the information you can kill him, right? He becomes a useless tool and you get rid of him."

"We all die sooner or later Kirby."

Kirby looked straight into Trumann's eyes, "I'd be happy with later."

Trumann stood up and began to pace around the room.

"You cannot imagine…endless pain, interminable suffering. No one can. Death is not something to be feared. No, not always. And it's time you come to realize that. Right now, death is your best friend."

"And here I thought we were getting along fine..."

"These five," Trumann pointed again toward the files on the table, "They know where the shards are, and I have already initiated assaults to capture each and every one of them. Corneria was easy to infiltrate, the Mushroom Kingdom was a joke, Hyrule could not stand up against even a simple pistol, and Onett is burning as we speak."

"And Kanto?"

"Kanto is my homeland, actually, it's where I live. Kanto is where I started. Pikachu and his friends could not even mount any resistance because they never even had the time. Hah…Kanto was easy. The point is, Kirby, whether you co-operate with us or not, I will find what I'm looking for. That is a fact."

"Why me?" Kirby asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Why did you attack the Fountain of Dreams? Why attack Pop Star if you knew the shards weren't located there? Why did you have to bring me into this?"

"There are six shards, Kirby, and only five so called 'Guardians'. If they don't know where the last one is, I figured you should."

Anger formed on Kirby's face, "So you are destroying my planet based on an assumption?"

Trumann smiled, then replied callously, "Sacrifice my friend. It's what is necessary."

"You're killing innocent people! They've done nothing!"

"That's it exactly!" Trumann smiled, "They have done nothing! They sit in their homes and let the world pass before their eyes. They don't matter, they are nothing! They deserve to die."

"No one deserves to die!"

The admiral paused for a moment his eyes scanning Kirby.

"Do you believe…or should I say, is trying to do good wrong?"

"If you think you're doing good here, that's what wrong."

"Answer the question please."

"Yeah, if you're killing people."

"Then what about you? You killed in the last war, all of you did. You Super Smash Brothers killed countless soldiers in the name of good."

"We did what we had to do to stop more innocents from being killed. That's not the same."

"Really? Killing a man isn't the same as killing another man? A less or more deserving man? Can we even classify men as either deserving or undeserving?"

"What are you even talking about?"

"I'm no different than you Kirby. I'm here doing what I need to do, just as you did five years ago. And you have the nerve to make me seem like that bad guy?" Trumann let out a deep laugh, "I'm acting on my beliefs, I'm making decisions based on what means something to me. You can sit there and act like you carry rationale with your choices, but you'd be deluding yourself. Every choice you make is based on you and you alone."

"So then, fine. But just what is your goal here in all this? You want to resurrect the Hands and bring back chaos to this galaxy?"

"This galaxy is already in chaos!" Trumann slammed a fist down on the table. He was visibly heated up now.

"This constant, ignorant stasis we live in…that's the chaos! There are so many lies that we are fed every day and we willingly ingest them. We know something is wrong but we choose to live in the fake, the illusion, the wrong! We choose to be ignorant! That's what I'm trying to change!"

"Killing is change? Killing is truth?"

"You think we're evil? You think what I plan to do is different from your governments, your society," He laughed. "We're all the same, sacrificing for progress!"

"You're sacrificing for power!"

"No! This life we live is flawed. Our worlds are flawed. What we believe in is all a convenient distraction from the truth! The Hands are not different from who lead us now, but they at least have the decency not to hide what they do!"

"The decency? Are you insane?"

"Insane? No. The Hands bring destruction, yes. But look at your world, your planets. All of them secretly plotting, lying through their teeth, basking in their hypocrisy while they gain the support of their people. You don't know what they do in their underground labs and their undisclosed locations in remote areas," Trumann glided over to the blanket in the corner and ripped it off its concealment. It was Mewtwo. He was unconscious and bloody.

"Look at your fellow compatriot." The General pointed towards Mewtwo slumped against the wall. "He was an experiment, a creature born from filth, greed, and power! And for what? What is power without purpose?"

"You're wrong…you're weak…"

Trumann struck Kirby in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Again he struck at his face, and then once more. Kirby spat up blood and started to wheeze.

"You want to talk to me about the weak? You fight for your monsters. I, mine. But the Hands…I fight for purpose, we fight for the truth."

Kirby laughed weakly. Breathing heavily, Kirby said, "Well sorry admiral…sorry we can't come to an agreement here…the truth is, though…I'm not telling you a god damned thing."

This time, the Trumann's blow knocked Kirby out. Angrily, the admiral flipped over his chair. Forming a fist with his right hand, he took another look at Kirby. Forcing himself to breathe slowly he collected the files from the table and shoved them back into the folder. He indignantly ordered a guard to throw Kirby and Mewtwo back to their cells. The admiral walked out of the interrogation room and into the hallway. He watched as a few soldiers carried the two prisoners down the pearl white hall. He averted his gaze down to the ground and rose his hand to his eyes to rub them. He dropped his head back closed his eyes together and cracked his neck. Trumann turned and walk down the hall and when he reached his quarters, he sighed. The door slid open and he walked into the small cabin.

His bed lay, headboard against the back wall, cornered. A large oak desk wedged next to the bed, beside the opposing wall. Honors, accommodations, and medals lined the wall to his left and eight badges rested ornately above his desk. "First Admiral Trumann Esquire" inscribed on a plaque below the badge display. He looked upon it in resigned disdain.

Trumann let out another deep breath and dropped to his bed. The mattress was hard and stubborn. The springs dug deep into his body like knives, leaving indisputable impressions. The sheets ran thick, masking the imperfection underneath. The pillow had to be molded up; it was confused, packed with feathers on one side and little on the other. The bed nestled comfortably in the corner, trapped, between two walls. Part of the bed frame had been peculiarly cracked and had to be fixed, refitted. The scar remained.

The admiral examined his left broken hand. He wiggled his fingers back and forth, touching each to each other. Squeezing into a fist, his hand began to shake. He caressed it with his right hand. He hung his head low and fell back onto his bed.

_**Onett Mall, Onett **_

The sun was going down. It was getting late. Ness found himself back to a wall peeking around a corner inside the city mall. Since leaving the subway, he had headed east. Now he was here, looking on as squads of soldiers patrolled the deserted halls.

The mall used to be the hot spot for the citizens of Onett. The atrium, with the arching dome windows above, let in the shining sunlight. The interior would be lit up like gold, the marble flooring glistening, people walking and laughing. Ness would come here with his friends, enjoying their time. To sit in the food court at the heart of the building, and at the center of that a small glassed in garden on the outside. A myriad of exuberant stores lined the long aisles, merchandise ranging from jewelry to clothing, to toys and to pottery.

In the far end of the mall was a gated store, not in use. Inside past the dusty display cases was a door that led down to a sub-level. It was there that Ness and his friends made a "hideout". It was there he'd find who he looking for.

At least he hoped.

Now the golden halls were shadowed by dust and bits of the befallen concrete wall. The setting sun shined violently through the toppled ceiling. The building rumbled from the warships overhead. Ness counted twelve guards in front of him, before the food court. Where he had to go was past that to the other end of the building. He couldn't be sure how many more soldiers were past the ones he saw, but he had to get through them.

Across the way he saw a metal door half open. EXIT was displayed in bold red letters with an arrow pointing down printed on a sign next to it. Ness looked back the way he came and saw more troops now outside. He doubted he could sneak through them again. The exit door looked like it led down, hopefully to the subway. That would be his way out.

Ness picked up a small piece of rubble and threw it in front of the first set of guards. The four of them turned their backs on Ness as he rushed over closer, sliding down behind a large trash bin. He was about thirty feet from them. Too far for him to bolt a pillar of fire. Being a psychic had its ups and down. He could communicate telepathically, but only with other psychics, he could shoot out a blast of fire only a few feet in front of him, and he could put up a protective energy barrier to absorb projectiles, but not physical attacks.

The thud of footsteps sounded on the marble floor. They were getting close to him. A few more seconds and they would be on him. Perfect.

A lone guard walked cautiously to a trash bin, almost his height. Two fellow men with guns were searching the interior of the caved in stores and the last was examining the rock fragment that had been tossed closely nearby. As he closed in on the bin, he aimed his gun carefully. The next thing he heard was a deafening crack near his head and he fell over, stunned. Before losing consciousness, he saw a boy in a red cap start to drag his body.

The three remaining soldiers shot glances over toward the noise and saw the legs of their partner slowly pulled behind the trash bin. One called for the other two squads in the area while the other couple of soldiers jogged over to the bin. Before they could reach it, a blast of fire erupted from their feet lighting their suits on fire, melting the material to their skin. In flames and screaming, the two soldiers dropped to the ground and tried to extinguish the flames. The two squads had gotten to the area so now nine soldiers stared on nervously at the scene before them. From behind the bin, a figure jumped out firing a gun and sprinted across the hall. Alarmed, the soldiers shot back. However, they too late as the boy dove into the store unharmed. Looking around, they noticed one man shot dead and another injured in the arm.

Eight left, Ness tallied, ducked down behind a counter. He checked his clip to find it half full. Emptying his pockets were two grenades and a small pocket knife, courtesy of the soldier he smashed in the head with his bat. He pulled the pin on the grenade and held it, waiting. In seconds, a rattle of footsteps could be heard in front of the store and Ness stood up and chucked the grenade at them. The blast blew five of them to the ground before any of them could react. Taking cover under the counter, Ness fired his gun at the other four running by. Hitting one, Ness ducked back down. A couple soldiers had crawled away from the grenade blast and there were three more firing bullets into the wood Ness was leaning on. He could feel his back vibrating from the bullets beating into his cover. He raised his gun again to fire blindly over the counter. A yelp. The wood wasn't going to hold the bullets, he'd have to move. Ness started to crawl away from the counter when he scratched his elbow on something sharp. It was thick and it was metal. It was a long rusted metal drawer door. He positioned it in front of him, cooked another grenade and stood up. He tossed the grenade far outside and began to run, using the metal sheet to cover him. The bullets riddled the metal, tearing and screeching around him. The force knocked him back off his feet, sending the sheet behind him. An explosion outside the store halted the gun fire. Smoke and dust filled the air and Ness looked up, panting. As the scene cleared, the soldiers lay dead. Ness sighed in relief. He got up and patted himself free of the dirt.

He stumbled out in to the atrium and looked ahead of him. Two squads of soldiers were looking straight at him, guns pointed in his direction. Ness exhaled slowly, nostrils flared. Pulling out the small knife he retrieved, and his metal bat resting in his grip, he started to raise his hands over his head.

"Drop the weapon!" The soldiers commanded.

Ness scanned the troops. Seven more stood in a line across the hall. Alright.

The knife was soaring through the air when the soldiers began to fire. Stabbing one between the eyes, the six remaining troops emptied their clips at Ness. A blue pulsating force field surrounded the boy, absorbing all the bullets. When the gun fire stopped, Ness dropped the glowing field. He scratched his nose with his middle finger as he looked on at the troops. They were fiddling to reload their guns.

Ness picked up his bat, readied his fire bolts, and charged.

_**The Evangelizer, prison cell block**_

Mewtwo sat aside Kirby, thinking. Across the way were Pikachu and Pichu. He had been put into Kirby's cell following his interrogation and wondered where his former cell mate, Jigglypuff, was. He looked at Pikachu, who smiled weakly back at him. His head hurt, his leg was sore, but what bothered him most was his hand. A finger appeared to be broken. He took his other hand and snapped it back into place, yelping in pain.

"You okay?" He heard Pikachu ask.

"It seems I injured my hand," He answered back plainly, holding up his left.

"You didn't answer my question."

"No."

Pikachu looked sorrowfully at his friend. Mewtwo crawled to a wall to lean up against. He didn't look back at Pikachu.

"We'll be fine, they need us. And they're not getting anything out of me."

"I know…I know." Mewtwo picked up something reluctantly from the floor and held it up in the light for Pikachu to see.

"I got this key."

Pikachu looked at it and half smiled, "Is that…what I think it is?"

"It will unlock these cells," Mewtwo confirmed, head lowered.

Pikachu's expression turned to a childish smile. He laughed.

"Wait till Kirby sees this! Haha, Mewtwo, you're nothing if not reliable."

Mewtwo didn't smile. He nodded and then closed his eyes to rest.

"We'll talk when Kirby wakes…" Mewtwo muttered, drifting off back to sleep.

Pikachu turned around back in his cell to face Pichu, wide eyed and staring back at him.

"We're going to escape?"

"Of course. We always were," Pikachu said cheerfully, patting Pichu's head.

Pichu was curious, "How did he get that key?"

"Must've swiped it off the guard, I guess. We'll worry about the details once we get safe, how's that?"

"Then what about Jigglypuff? We're going to get her right?"

"We're not leaving her behind."

Pichu still looked worried. He was a quick learner and had lived with Pikachu since the war's end. Equally interested about artifacts and ancient scripts, Pikachu taught what he could to him. It was why the White Faction took him, too, he guessed. They assumed Pichu would know just as much as he did. In a way, they were right. Pichu was bright, but he was still only a kid. He was ten when the war ended five years ago, making him three years younger than the youngest Smasher, Ness. Pikachu still worried about him. His role in the last war was limited, restricted to scouting missions or relaying messages. He didn't know how Pichu would be able to handle a fight, should it come to pass.

Pichu stole a glance at Mewtwo. He even looked dismal in his sleep. Noticing, Pikachu spoke again.

"For all the years I've known him, he hasn't smiled once," He said, looking at his friend, "Can you believe that? Some people are meant to be unhappy I suppose."

Pikachu looked at Pichu again, "He's a good guy, Pichu, you'll see that. Trust me."

He pat his back and told him to get back to sleep. Pichu watched from the ground as Pikachu fell into sleep. It was the first time since the war Pichu had seen Mewtwo. He was certainly the same troubled creature Pichu had seen back then. But Pikachu said he was a friend, so he believed him. What else could he do? Pichu closed his eyes.

_**Below Onett Mall, Onett  
**_

The tunnel was dark and musty and the air was thick. The stairs were led down into more black. He slowly walked down the hall, feeling the walls for stability and heading toward the thin sliver of light on the ground a few feet down. He reached for the door and turned the handle and pushed. As it creaked open, he looked upon a rapid flicker of light emitting from a lantern resting atop a wooden stool. Sitting on the ground next to it, with a blond head between his knees, was a boy.

"Lucas…"

The boy's head perked up, his eyes were like saucers. He was afraid.

"Uh…N..ness?"

Ness nodded and walk to him.

"I…I c-came here…l-like you told me t-t-to," He stammered.

"That's good Lucas, good. Now we need to go, we need to get out of here, okay?"

Lucas nodded silently, shivering.

"Okay, let's go."

Ness led Lucas back upstairs through the empty store. Debris had fallen around, shelves were knocked over, paper littered the ground. In a minute, the two had past the food court. Lucas eyed the charred bodies of soldiers lying on the ground in front of him.

"Did you…?"

"Let's keep going, there's an exit right over there," Ness hurried Lucas past the bodies. Lucas gazed despondently around the mall in ruins. When they reached the door, Ness poked his head through the door. Deeming it safe he turned back to Lucas.

"This should lead us underground to the subway tunnels, okay? From there we run west. That's where the survivors went, and it's where rescue is."

Lucas was staring at the bodies. Ness shifted his head away.

"Hey, hey! Okay?"

Lucas nodded again.

"Look, I know this is scary, but you need to stay with me here. You're special. I told you before, and I'm not lying. But we need to keep going. We need to escape from here."

"O-okay."

Ness took his arm and led him through the hallway. Down a flight of stairs and through a set of doors they reached a ladder. They quickly climbed down, feeling the draft of the bitter cold underground. The sun had set now and the bombing had died down. It was eerily quiet.

"Ness…"

Ness looked at Lucas as they walked through the subway tunnel.

"I did what you said…in c-case of an a-attack, I did what you said."

"Okay. Good."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you need me?"

"Because you're special."

Lucas shook his head and coughed.

"Why?"

"Because you're psychic, like me."

"That's it?"

Ness hesitated to answer back, "For now."

Ness and Lucas approached the train station platform. Ness took notice to a man lying breathless on the floor among others. It was the older man from the family he passed through earlier. He looked away somberly. Leading Lucas on, a stream of light suddenly shined on their faces from up the stairwell. A gruff shout. It was a soldier.

In an instant, more soldiers came running to the stairwell, like mosquitoes to the light.

Ness pulled Lucas and sprinted towards the western tunnel. He could hear them pursuing as he reached the mouth of the tunnel. They would be easy targets down there. He kept running until he felt Lucas break off his grasp. He spun around to see the soldiers reaching the bottom of the steps and Lucas bending over to pick up a fat red can.

"Lucas what are you doing?" Ness shouted.

He heard, as Lucas hobbled closer to him, the sloshing of liquid in the canister being carried over. Lucas splashed the floor around him and in front of the tunnel entrance. He tossed it aside in a couple seconds. The soldiers located them and were rushing closer.

"I-it's gasoline…" Lucas said as he rejoined Ness.

Ness nodded. He pointed his hands out and shot a flare at the fuel, lighting up a wall of flames between Ness and Lucas and the troops. They started running again.

"That won't last forever…" Ness said, sprinting alongside Lucas.

"I can…do that too?" Lucas asked glancing back at the flames as he ran.

Ness nodded. The flames were splashing the tunnel walls with light, red orange, glowing, flickering wildly. They heard explosions behind them coupled with gun fire. Ducking their heads as they ran, another explosion shook the walls. A loud crack overhead. The sound of metal creaking. Ness stopped and looked up to see the ceiling cracking. The tunnel was shaking. More grenades were exploding. The support beams were crumbling. The crevice along the ceiling raced ahead of him and Lucas, like lightning.

"Lucas!"

Lucas skidded to a halt and twisted around. A loud rumble and another explosion. A blast of smoke erupted above them and a quake of dirt and soil and rock shot down.

"Ness!"

The ground above them collapsed down in a massive roar. Cement and gravel covered the tunnel way between the two boys. They were separated.

Ness ran over to the rubble and shouted to his friend, "Lucas? LUCAS?"

He heard coughing and a weak reply.

"Lucas, you need to listen now, you need to leave, you have to escape. But you have to do something for me, okay?"

Ness hurried his words, the flames were dying down and the soldiers were beginning their advance. He didn't have much time.

"You're a psychic, you have powers and responsibilities now. You need to be strong. I was a Smasher five years ago, I helped defeat the Hands." He waited for an answer but got none.

"Do you understand, Lucas?"

"…Yes"

"You need to meet with the other Smashers, you need to get them together and warn them of this. They're after the shards. It's imperative you find these four people, okay? Remember them. Mario, Link, Fox and Pikachu. These men are after the crystal shards and they need us to find them. Now Lucas…"

A yell from behind Ness.

"Lucas, I'm going to give a message telepathically. You'll need it to find one of the shards, and you can't tell anyone but one of those four I just mentioned. I'm also sending the locations of where you can find the Smashers. Okay?"

Lucas replied meekly. Words suddenly formed in his mind, Ness's voice resonated in his head. He received the message. He heard more shouts from down the tunnel. Then Ness spoke once more.

"Lucas. Don't trust anyone. If something seems wrong, run away. You'll do that, okay? Trust no one else. And _run_."

Gun fire ripped through the tunnels. Lucas ran.


	4. Nightmares and Fears

_5 years ago_

_Music was playing. It was of a classical blend. Orchestrated between organ-like and wind instrument fashion with strings gracefully strung off a harp. It was imbued, to him, with a sense of cleansing. Layers of his physical shell gently folded away, the world was briefly opened up to his consciousness. He was reminded of a lost thought, present in all men. The serenade reached through his soul, depleted. Triumph, beauty, Life._

_Interrupted._

"_Shut that drabble off!" A voice barked gruffly._

_He opened his eyes. He was in the back of an airship. The hatch was slowly opening; an overwhelming pressure of the air outside blowing in. It silenced the music. He looked around him to find the source._

_Including himself, there were four of them, and a stern officer holding onto a metal bar. He was shouting his orders to the squad. _

_A young Hylian sat next to him. No older than eighteen. He himself was from Kanto. Two men on one side of the plane, two on the other. They were buckled in as the ship rattled under turbulence. A red headed human was seated across the aisle. Next to him was a short portly man from the Mushroom Kingdom. The officer was still yelling over the air pressure whipping in from the back. _

"_Were you playing that? I mean…that song that was just playing," he whispered to the Hylian._

_He smiled slyly, "Yeah, reminds me of home. I always listen to it before a fight."_

_He nodded back, "It was beautiful."_

_The officer caught notice of the two talking. _

"_Hey! I'm done babying you kids, now you better listen up!"_

"_Sir, sorry, sir," they responded._

"_I was told you four are the best of the best. Best qualified, best damned capable, and best fit to send the White Hands back to hell! Was I misinformed?"_

"_No, sir!" The four sounded together._

_Red lights were flashing in the cabin. It was late, darkness enveloped the sky._

"_Then get down there and do your duty!"_

_The soldiers rose and saluted the officer. The officer looked directly back into the eyes of the soldier from Kanto. In the next minute, they were falling through the sky._

_The next morning._

_They were all dead. _

_The next mourning…_

_**The Evangelizer, Trumann's Quarters**_

A knock on the door woke him up. He lay staring up at the ceiling, disturbed. The knocking continued. Trumann sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed. He rose and headed towards the door.

"This better be good," He snarled to himself as he opened the door.

"What is it?" Trumann asked dryly, looking at the guard standing at his door step.

"Sir!" He saluted, then pulled out a slip of paper, "Our agent has confirmed the prisoners' intent on escape. He also…" The guard skimmed the note in his hand, then continued, "he says 'I urge you should make haste to Mushroom Kingdom. The longer Mario is not retained-"

Trumann cut him off, "He gave this to you, did he?"

"N..no, sir. He uh, left the note on that ledge over there," He answered back, pointing down the hall near the interrogation room.

Trumann grunted, "Very well. Dismissed."

The guard saluted him again and began to walk away when Trumann beckoned him back.

"What of my trip to Hyrule?"

Trumann was given a blank stare, "S..sir?"

"Go make sure my ship is ready for leave," Trumann looked at his watch, "I should be going soon."

"I..in the hangar, then…sir?"

"Yes…My ship is in the hangar," Trumann hissed, holding back his anger.

The guard hesitated, mostly in fear, "Uh…yes sir, I'll go check, sir!"

Trumann grunted again.

The guard nodded, saluting once more. He marched off.

Trumann closed his door. He walked to his desk and sat in his chair. He looked up at the display case over head on the wall. Back down to his name plate reading First Admiral Trumann Esquire. He was sullen with defeated anger. He wiped it off the desk top and listened as it clanged on the metal flooring. An echo of a long memory. He turned back to the badges. His eyes mourned. A long rescinded memory.

He opened the drawer on his desk and picked out a small red and white orb. He shoved it into his coat pocket and picked up his hat from his headboard. Fitting it to his slanted forehead, he walked out the door. He headed toward the hangar bay.

_**Hyrule Plains, Hyrule**_

It was the night after the anniversary of the White Hands' defeat. Link was striding through the plains on his horse after a three night stay in Hyrule Castle. The night was still and quiet. Mechanization and industry never made it to Hyrule, even after the war. The princess, Zelda, opposed the idea of what the rest of the galaxy called "progress". Rather than creating a higher standard of living, the princess, along with Link, believed technology destroyed it. They were traditionalists. And from an economical view point, residents of Hyrule were among the happiest people in the galaxy.

The world was populated with rich culture, diverse in the arts. Elegant music, song and dance, paintings and sculptures and beautiful architecture, even the cuisine was always a blend of the freshest fruits and vegetables. Lon Lon Ranch was among one of the most famous exports from their country, trading dairy products across the planets. Link was approaching the ranch, behind him the faint glow of the bustling night life of Hyrule Castle Town. Up ahead of him a more than faint glow shined from the mountain tops.

Behind the mountain walls, through the rocky ravines, laid Gerudo Valley. Home of Ganondorf, a man as unpredictable as he was deadly. He aided the Super Smash Brothers in the war, however prior to it had attacked the kingdom various times. Regarded as the dark magistrate by the Gerudos, he led them on campaigns against the castle. Never truly succeeding because of Link's intervention on many cases, Ganondorf still found it in himself to ally with Hyrule to fight the Hands. He was like a cult leader, preaching to his fanatics. He was hardly trustable to the people of Hyrule. The man was mysterious, no doubt, and tonight left Link even more suspicious of him.

Ahead he heard a low thunder in the mountains. Link had never seen the desert lit up so brightly. Whatever was happening would not bode well. Link looked to the sky to find only the stars. After the Smashers defeated the Hands, Zelda had agreed to one "progressive action". Transport ships. The only airport was located in Hyrule Castle Town, in one of the newer districts. It's how Hyrule would trade and communicate with the rest of the worlds. Ships ran silently through the planet's atmosphere every night, but tonight there was none. Something was wrong.

Link whipped his horse onwards, toward the mouth of the canyon. He had to see what was going on in the desert. As he approached on, the low rumbling grew louder. He stopped his horse and tied it to a decrepit old tree nearby. Link ran softly on the gravel path. He peered down the ravine to spot the disturbance. Across the stone bridge dividing Hyrule from Gerudo Valley Link watched as space ships materialized from the sky and landed. A sort of cloaking device, Link guessed. The ships had been letting off troops, hundreds of them, covered head to toe in spotless white armor and equipped with what startled Link the most: guns. The ships would drop off the soldiers, recloak themselves, then return into the atmosphere as if nothing had happened. The soldiers joined the ranks of small bands of Gerudo warriors. Link thought he could make out the large form of Ganondorf at the end of the canyon. The troops were marching into formation.

Link could not understand it. Ganondorf was just as opposed to technology as the rest of the Hylians. Yet here he was, being financed by someone, with an army capable of destroying Hyrule Castle in a couple of hours. Then he heard his voice. Deep and reverberating through the walls, from speakers lined along the canyon. Ganondorf was addressing his troops.

"Boys, tonight's the night! Whether or not they see us coming, Princess Zelda is relinquishing her beloved castle to us! Hyrule, tonight, is ours!"

After a long cheer and applause, Ganondorf stepped down. He walked off the stage and over to his tent. It was significantly larger than the others, at least four times the size. Ganondorf flipped back the tent fold and walked inside. A map of Hyrule swept the entirety of the back canvas of the tent. There were a few wooden crates and a stone table. His cot lay in the corner and an earthen cabinet lay bolted shut next to it. He walked over to it and unsealed it. The small, cold ambience of refrigeration crept to his hand as the door swung open. And as he reached for one of the bottles stacked inside the cooler, a bleeding cut caught his notice on his left hand. It was barely noticeable and did not pain him. He quickly wiped it off on his dark garments, only to infect the wound with particles of sand.

"Gah!" Ganondorf winced as the wound stung. He brushed his hand off gently and waved it in the air. "God damn sand everywhere," he cursed to himself. All around his tent, and his homeland, sand infiltrated every corner.

"I'm sick of this shit," he complained to know one in particular. "And those Hylians wonder why I want out of this goddess forsaken desert."

Ever since the war five years ago had ended, and Zelda returned back to her castle, he had been surrounded in sand. He had not seen her, or Link, after that. But he saw the sand. Around him, practically in his thoughts and in his dreams and was always especially abundant when he was alone. He swore to be rid of it all someday. He could not stand it, but could not be without it.

He turned his head toward one of the small window openings cut in the flapping tent cloth. Outside his Gerudo soldiers were still cheering. It was fanatic.

"It's not even loyalty, it's pure extremist adulation," The dark wizard commentated, "Exaltation, worship, sheepish rapture, I swear these boys have no minds of their own."

He sighed. Across the dry terrain, a larger, more ornate ship had let off a single man. Curiously, Ganondorf watched. His stature and disposition matched, stern and stiff, while his pale skin contrasted heavily to the native Gerudo men.

"Must be the hotshot blowhard," he laughed heartily. He brought his chilled drink up to his mouth, then hesitated. He inspected under the cap for any sand. Ganondorf frowned.

"…Son of a bitch," Ganondorf set the bottle down and searched for a cloth or rag or something to wipe with. Halfway through rummaging in a crate, he stopped.

"Everything I find here is just going to be wrecked with sand anyways…" He plopped down on a fold up chair.

Just then, a dark skinned soldier walked in. He wore a light leather cuirass and patched loose cloth pants, and held a skinny halberd in one hand.

"M'lord, the space admiral is here. He seeks permission to see you."

Ganondorf waved his hand, signifying to let him in. And just out of necessity, the dark magistrate said solemnly, "Sure, let him in."

Behind the Gerudo, Admiral Trumann marched in. From the short walk from his ship, the wind had already whipped the ashes of the earth upon his suit, permeating every crevice. His light grey jacket was smeared with a dusty beige overtone. Ganondorf was picking at the sand around his bottle. When he saw the admiral, he held out the bottle.

"Want some beer? Can't guarantee it isn't just a bottle of sand, though," He said, still focused on brushing off his drink. When it was finally clean, he took a sip.

"No thank you."

Ganondorf spat out the sour liquid after tasting it. "I don't blame you."

Ganondorf tossed his drink over in a corner of the tent, where it cracked open, releasing wet onto the dry rock flooring. "So you're Admiral Trumann then, huh? I'm inclined to thank you for your services."

The admiral responded, "So long as I get Link, you need not thank me for anything."

"So long as you keep your end of the bargain, we'll be fine," Ganondorf gave the admiral a distrusting glare.

"You have nothing to worry about, my friend. Once I have Link, I'll leave with my troops and you'll be in complete control of this land," Trumann was still standing at the opening of the tent, hands gripped together down at his waist.

"And the princess?" Ganondorf remarked in fleeting anxiety. He could taste the granules of sand grinding in his teeth.

"Princess Zelda will be all yours," Trumann caught a flicker in Ganondorf's eye, and repeated, "_All yours."_

"I should be going," Ganondorf said quickly, turning toward the open flap of the tent. Trumann stopped him as he approached.

"Actually, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I came along. To make sure everything is done…right." His suggestion was more of a command.

Ganondorf grunted. He raised his hand, flicking it to signal Trumann to follow. "Sure. The more the merrier," Ganondorf answered crossly.

The admiral moved out of the way as Ganondorf stepped out from the tent. Trumann followed closely behind, left hand in his coat pocket, smoothly caressing the small orb he brought from his cabin.

At that point, Link was already rushing back across the Hyrule Plains to warn the princess of what he witnessed. It seemed his horse could not go fast enough through the dark and endless plains.

_**The Halberd, outside Pop Star space perimeter**_

The Halberd was owned by the elusive warrior Meta Knight. The battleship paralleled the Great Fox in size and firepower and could easily take on a large battalion of fighters. And when Meta Knight saw two Arwings and a small, golden orange ship flying his direction, he naturally felt no concern.

"Sir Meta Knight! Unknown aircraft approaching!"

Admiral Vul's voice shot out of the PA system. Meta Knight was in his quarters looking outside at the three ships headed his way.

"I'll get the cannons ready. They'll be sorry they came by here!"

An alarm sounded throughout the ship signaling an offensive shift. Red lights flashed. Meta Knight grabbed at the microphone on his table and pressed a button to speak.

"Don't. Start up the tractor beam. Bring them in."

After a moment, the sirens shut off, and he could hear the engines cooling back down. The Halberd was back in stationary observation. The docking bay doors opened in the back as the ship spun to intercept the arriving strangers. As they closed in to the ship, Meta Knight noticed the familiarity of the larger ship to that the helmet of a bounty hunter he knew five years ago. He looked on in silent sadness.

Meta Knight and his crew had been off planet up until this morning. He had ordered the Halberd stop on the edge of Pop Star airspace when he noticed no communication coming from the planet. He had sent sentries to report on what they found at the planet. The news was grim. His planet laid in siege by a large battleship, two times the size of his, and surrounded by nearly a dozen battalions of fighters and bombers. Pop Star was in ruins, and Meta Knight had anticipated heading to the planet to assist its ailing citizens.

If these were who he thought they were, the ships he had just intercepted, then they'd have a reason to be coming this far alone. The reports that Pop Star was not an isolated attack worried Meta Knight, and these familiar ships would only confirm his suspicions. If more planets were under attack, another war was imminent. More deaths were on the horizon.

_**The Evangilizer, Prison cell block**_

Mewtwo sat in silence as Pikachu and Kirby discussed their plan for escape. He watched them confer in each other, he watched their friendship, and he watched their trust. He turned away.

"My interrogations have been without our favorite admiral recently. I think I heard a guard say he was off ship on my way back this morning," Pikachu said.

"So then we make our escape now," Kirby said without hesitation, "We could use any bit of an advantage here. Without the CO, maybe the troops will be a little disarrayed?"

Pikachu shrugged, "We're going to have to break out sooner or later," and as he rubbed his side, he said, "I just prefer we leave sooner. They're getting a little more…coercive lately."

"Then it's settled, let's go now before they catch on that Mewtwo swiped a key," Kirby asserted, getting up."

"And our plan?" Pikachu asked, "We can't just walk out there without weapons."

Kirby thought a moment, but Pikachu broke in, "There's an armory in the room right off the hallway out that door."

"Good, then let's go there."

"What about Jigglypuff?" Pichu asked worriedly.

Pikachu sighed, "I don't know how far the next cell block is," He looked toward Kirby's silent cell mate, "Mewtwo?"

The three looked towards Mewtwo, who opened his eyes at the sound of his name.

"I'll go get her. You three go for the armory and I'll meet you at the hangar." His voice was soft and quiet.

Pikachu didn't look happy, "I don't like the idea of splitting up."

"I know how to get there, but risking all of us being caught is illogical. If you succeed in making it to the hangar, wait no longer than five minutes."

"We can't leave you and Jigglypuff!" Pichu protested.

"We won't have to, Mewtwo will be fine," Pikachu said, trying to comfort his young friend. Pikachu looked upon Mewtwo with a worried stare, as if he was trying to confirm his hopes.

Kirby clapped his hands together and got everyone's attention. He was eager to escape.

"Come on, come on! Let's get going," Kirby smiled, "I just wish I could see the admiral's face when he finds out we escaped!"

Mewtwo got up slowly and stepped to the door. He reached his arms through the bars and inserted the key. He heard the click of the lock. The door creaked open.

_**Hangar bay, the Halberd**_

A crowd of six or seven Waddle Dee surrounded the visitors to their ship by the time Meta Knight had arrived. Admiral Vul was standing near the wall shouting angrily and waving his wings at the small reddish creatures. They scattered around when the ships opened up. One in particular ran back towards Vul and tripped into the wall.

"What are you doing you imbecile!" Vul rushed over to the Waddle Dee that had tripped. The admiral pointed directly above where it was slouched on the wall.

"If you fell into that button, we'd all be sucked out into space right now! I can't believe you're so clumsy!"

Admiral Vul had been with Meta Knight on the Halberd since it was rebuilt, and was with him on the first Halberd that had crashed many years before. Other than his crew, only Kirby knew the story behind the crash. It was Meta Knight's early years that he did not wish to revisit. The hawk-admiral had light brown plumage and a rough white beard under his beak. He had now picked up the Waddle Dee and turned him toward the blue shimmering barrier that covered the hangar bay door, shielding them from the no oxygen atmosphere on the other side. He was still shouting insults at the clumsy creature.

Vul heard footsteps behind him, quickly dropped the Waddle Dee, and saluted Meta Knight upon seeing him.

"Sir! Sorry for the disturbance these cretins have created!"

"They have created no problem, admiral," Meta Knight walked past Vul, leaving him standing in embarrassed chagrin. He stumbled over his next words, "S-sir, then who are these chumps w-we've picked up? I thought we were heading to Pop Star!"

He looked over to see a fox, falcon and a heavily armored bounty hunter dragging out a robot from the larger ship.

"These chumps are Smashers, admiral."

Vul flinched at the words. "O-oh…" He rushed over behind Meta Knight. As he was about to apologize, Meta Knight interrupted him by greeting his friends.

"I gather from your looks this isn't a meeting to rejoice over."

"Meta Knight, someone has attacked Corneria," Fox told him hastily, "We don't know who, but-"

Meta Knight stopped him, "The reports are true then." He cupped his hands behind his back and stood in silence.

"What's going on?" Samus asked, taking her helmet off. Vul gave a surprised look when he saw her long blonde hair. Again, Meta Knight spoke over his stammering admiral.

"Walk with me, I'll explain."

"Hold on, ROB's needs to get repaired," Falco interrupted.

Meta Knight looked at Vul and pointed toward ROB. "Y-yes, of course, sir!"

"My admiral will get him the repair he needs, in the meantime, if you would all follow me."

Hesitant, the three agreed to follow. As they were exiting the hangar, they could hear Vul back to his usual self, shouting at the workers to get ROB to the repair shop.

The four of them walked down the rustic bronze hallways of the Halberd, Meta Knight in the lead.

"We're completely in the dark here, Meta Knight," Falco said.

"They've been all over Corneria and we didn't notice a thing until it was too late…" Fox added, "General Pepper's dead, it's probable Peppy and Slippy are, too, and my ship was destroyed."

Meta Knight turned a corner a led them down another hallway.

"And Wolf's dead, killed right in front of my eyes."

They were led in a door way, an elevator. A button was pressed and they began to rise.

"The White Faction…that's what they call themselves. They have plans with the shards."

"Yes. I'd assume so." Meta Knight complied.

"Alright, come on," Falco was getting impatient, "Tell us what you know."

The door slid open. They entered the command bridge.

"The White Faction. Led by an Admiral Trumann. He's got a navy out there in space laying waste Pop Star. I assumed for the shards. They want the shards, they want to bring back the Hands."

"What? They can't do that! You can't release the hands out of the crystals, right?" Falco looked at Fox, then Meta Knight, "Tell me you can't do that!"

Meta Knight stopped the group in front of the pane of glass overlooking the front of the ship. They were in the proverbial crow's nest of the Halberd. "It's possible."

"Are you kidding me?"

Falco was flustered, and looked to everyone else. "Does no one else find this a little ridiculous? We seal away the most diabolical, evil, cursed monsters to ever roam this galaxy and we don't even have the decency to put a lock on these crystal shards to prevent them from coming back out?

"Well it's not that easy…" Fox said softly.

"The shards aren't on Pop Star, so that's our first advantage. They're looking in the wrong spot." Meta Knight responded.

Fox gave him an odd look, "How did you know that? Only the Guardians are supposed to know."

"No," Falco stopped them, "No, shut up." He pointed a finger at Fox, "Why didn't you tell me this before? What else are you hiding?"

"Settle down." Samus commanded, pushing the two pilots apart. "It doesn't matter the details right now. We need to focus on getting the other shards and securing them before they can."

Falco pressed his feathers up to his head to try to calm himself. Fox nervously spoke.

"They're hidden. All of the Guardians created a clue or puzzle or something that revealed the location of the shard they hid. That White Faction won't be able to find it without us Guardians."

"But, they tried capturing you, right? When Pigma isolated you in the space station that was a plan! These White fools don't seem to be that foolish." Falco mused.

"If they got to you, Fox, they've surely gotten to the others." Meta Knight concluded.

"Damn it…" Fox's head was whirling, "Damn it! So what? What do we do?"

"We need to get the shards." Samus said plainly.

Falco threw his arms up, "No no, we need to go get the other guardians, we have to make sure they're okay before they get captured!"

Fox shook his head, "We can't, we'd just be walking into a trap with them if they're not already captured yet."

Falco was angry, "Are you serious, Fox? What the hell happened to screw with your mind? You're going to puss out because of an if?"

"We could die!"

"Holy shit, it's the end of the world 'cause we could die! I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Falco pushed Fox out of his way and marched to the elevator door. "I'm going to find Mario and the others. Maybe they'll have a spine to do something."

"Wait!" Samus said jogging over to the blue falcon, "I'm going with you. I want to make sure what Fox is saying is accurate and these shards are still hidden," and she looked back at Fox, who looked stunned at the situation."Fox, you better make damn sure that shard is safe."

The two entered the elevator and the door slid shut. There was a silence in the room. Fox was staring at where his friends departed and Meta Knight was staring in the opposite direction, out the window, like he was surveying the stars. Fox looked back at Meta Knight, unsure what to say. The enigmatic warrior broke the silence.

"I'm going to Pop Star."

"You can't do that, you'd die," Fox predicated.

"You're welcome to leave." Meta Knight turned around and began to walk past.

Fox held out his arm to stop him, "No. I'll come with."

Meta Knight stared into his eyes. It was different from what he saw in them five years ago. The Fox before him was scared and confused. But he was still strong. Meta Knight could see the honor still within. He nodded silently and continued down the room.

It was not the reunion Meta Knight had expected.

_**The Evangelizer, hallway block C**_

After making their way out of their cells, Mewtwo and the others split. Pikachu, Kirby and Pichu had stopped in a small containment room that connected with the prison cell. They were cautiously watching the hallway on the other side of a door for any troops. Kirby peeked through the glass window in the door to scan the hallway. Seeing no one, he asked Pikachu which door led to the armory. When he pointed it out, they entered the hall and rushed down the pearl tile and through the armory's door.

"Hey!" A voice yelled from behind the counter as they charged in the room. A young soldier looked frightened at the intruders. Kirby jumped over the counter and landed on top of the soldier, who fought to push him off. Pikachu had already rushed around the counter and placed his hands on the soldiers head. He yelled out to try and attract attention. Kirby jumped off as Pikachu sent a current of electricity into the man's head, silencing his shouts.

"Did you…kill him?" Pichu asked sheepishly.

Kirby answered before Pikachu, "Let's hope so." He looked around at the room to find some weapons. Pichu looked at Pikachu who shook his head no. The armory itself was larger than Pikachu had anticipated; the room extended at least twenty feet wider on either side of the door. Gun racks and shelves filled most of the space, aside from the counter that welcomed any visitors at the door. Automatic rifles, pistols, grenades, heavy ordnance, and even land mines were among the materials.

"I want it all," Kirby smiled as he picked up a launcher of some kind.

Pikachu looked over at Kirby trying to manage the weapon. It was three times his height. Pikachu took it from him and placed it back on the rack. "No." He handed Kirby a smaller pistol. Kirby accepted it reluctantly and searched for something else he could use. Settling on a smaller machine gun, he tossed another to Pikachu, of whom was handing over a small pistol to Pichu.

"You know how to use this? Aim, shoot, simple, right?"

Pichu grabbed the pistol and nodded. "Aim, shoot. Simple."

"Simple…" Kirby scoffed at the word.

"Kirby?"

"Nothing..." He was despondent. Kirby looked back to the two and grinned out a sad smile. "What do you say we get the hell off this ship?"

* * *

Sorry for the filler chapter. It's either that or I break out a 12,000 word chapter four in another month. I'll also be heading to college in three days, so if I don't update for awhile, that's why. All issues aside, I hope you're enjoying the story.


	5. Rain and Blood

**I'm all about trying new things. This whole story is an entirely new style of writing for me, and I'm experimenting with a lot of different devices and structures to make this really mean something. But I'm unsatisfied. With myself and with the readers here. Or lack thereof. **

**I don't know if people are turned away from my 6,000 word chapters, or if they just don't even want to bother reading and reviewing this, but now, for awhile, I'm going to post smaller sized chapters. Maybe then you'll have the patience to get through it. But in all honesty, I think it would have taken away from the previous chapters if I broke them down. For now, I'm at a point where the story can be broken down or be combined into a longer part and either way it would not harm the product. So this is a third of what the next chapter would've been. We'll see how this turns out. If nothing changes, I guess I'll just go back to writing however I want, but without input, there is nothing I can do to make this more approachable and enjoyable to you, the reader.  
**

* * *

_5 years ago_

"_They're dead…?"_

_He was in the communications room. The hologram projector on the table displayed the image of his commanding officer. A general by name, a heartless scoundrel by nature. His voice commanded the man._

"_You are to report back to base immediately, officer."_

"_Sir, with all due respect, what happened? This was supposed to be a recon mission! No one was supposed to die, my so-" the officer stopped himself, trying to restrain his emotions._

"_It's what the Hand army does, officer, they kill people. The sooner you realize that fact, the better off you'll be."_

_He was shaken with remorse. "But sir, I…"_

"_They died valiantly. That's what is important. Now return to base, officer," the general barked out._

_The officer clicked off the projection, despondent. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. He wasn't supposed to die._

_He walked out of the room silently. Crossing the hall he entered the bridge. Two pilots sat behind the dashboard. Orange lights glowing from the screens and monitors, setting an amber ambiance in the cabin. They looked to him for direction._

"_We're going back."_

_His thoughts were crippled, his orders meaningless. His son had just been reported dead, along with the other three soldiers that had dropped off the ship hours before. He was responsible for it. He was devastated because of it. He needed to see what happened._

_He needed.

* * *

_

_**Hyrule Castle Town, Hyrule**_

The battle had already begun. It was barely two in the morning and the sky was already plastered with the roaring flames of war. The night was shadowed by the fog and the rain that splashed down heavily. The city gates lay ruined, the regal stone crumbled to the ground. The townspeople were in an uproar, scattering through the streets as Ganondorf's army stormed in.

The rain had picked up substantially, whipping its victims. The Gerudos ran through the market square hollering war cries, striking down those civilians unfortunate to cross them. They would strip down the men, pillage the old, and rape the women. Ganondorf watched the massacre from the front lines. His expression remained blank, his eyes searching for something else. Balls of flames shot out from the windows of a store behind them, as more bombs were thrown around. Amidst the fire, the smoke and the rain, and the plethora of human bodies both living and dead around the city, it was hard to find his want. But she wouldn't be here. A glitter of light caught his eye, where two Gerudo men were tying up a young girl. They were both digging their blackened hands into her dress, grasping for money and pleasure. She cried out and was beaten. The animals were hooting and laughing as one held up a silver bracelet. The other tore down the girl's blouse to find a golden necklace resting, tangled, on her bare chest. Ganondorf would have looked away, but he noticed something peculiar. The two Gerudos, drenched in rain as they were, shed dry sand from their sleeves and their trousers. In their dirt red hair, matted down and wet on their heads, sand drifted off, sprinkling the ground. Ganondorf strained his eyes to make out what he was seeing. The two men slapped at the girl again; she was whimpering. The tears flowed from her eyes as she was tied up and dragged off into an alley, the two Gerudo men laughed feverishly with lust in their eyes. Shadows began to overtake them. Ganondorf watched as the young Hylian's body created a path in the water flooded streets. Large, wet, sandy tears rolled down her cheeks. Ganondorf blinked. Streams of sand poured out from her, fountains of sand erupting from the men. Ganondorf staggered in his place and shook his head. Looking back, they were gone. Down into the alley, it had passed.

An explosion shook the ground, causing Ganondorf to stumble again. A few soldiers bumped into him and an opening in the crowd cleared in front of him. Across the cobble stone square, Hylian guards were rushing down the path that lead to the castle.

The Hylian guards had just started assembling on the other side of the market, and were attempting to form a resistance. The Hyrule royal guard was outnumbered and outmatched and they would not be able to hold the line. They were fighting feral beasts, reckless and wild. To strike down one would generate five more, all more terrifyingly savage than the last. Soon, the road to the castle would be crawling with Gerudo monsters. Holding firm, they hid behind their shields bearing the royal insignia of the kingdom. As a throng of sun burnt creatures rushed them, a volley of arrows rained down upon them. Another wave of arrows were fired from behind the Hylians and the Gerudos were hit hard. The arrows penetrated their cloth armor and pinned them down, splashing bodies and blood into the flooded streets. Morale raised, the Hylians marched up to brave the cretins.

It was then a massive ball of dark energy shot from the crowd of retreating animals and knocked the front line of Hylians flying backwards. Ganondorf lunged through the air and landed in the middle of the guards. They were scattered and scared, and Ganondorf charged at the nearest soldier. The devastating blow had knocked the guard through three others behind him and Ganondorf rushed further forward still. Maneuvering past the rest of the soldier, he exited the market and came across the gravel path that led up to the castle. An even larger concentration of archers and foot soldiers laid in wait. The path led around and winding up a small hill overlooking the castle town. The castle sat behind, gate drawn up and surrounded by a flooding moat. The storm was spraying down in torrents. It was getting difficult for the soldiers to keep hold of their weapons. Ganondorf hid himself behind a thick tree near the foot of the hill. He looked back to the castle town, and despite the heavy downpour, fire still lit up the streets. Echoes of screams and explosions managed to sound out through the blanket of water beating from the sky.

Ganondorf reached down in his pocket and pulled out a radio device. Admiral Trumann had handed it to him for a specific purpose. He held it up to find a trigger, soaking wet.

"Alright, let's see what you can do," Ganondorf muttered, barely audible through the rampaging storm. Locating the button, the device slipped from his hand and lightning cracked the sky open. Ganondorf flinched as he swore to himself. He searched the muddy soil and dead liquid grass to find the detonator. Thunder burst the atmosphere and pummeled rain upon the scene. Ganondorf had to shield his eyes to block the downpour. The sky was on fire; it shattered between the lightning bolts. Wind wept soggy leaves and twigs and kicked under Ganondorf's feet. He strained his eyes to find the device. He could he shouts from the army atop the hill, they were growing scared with every lightning crash.

"Where the hell are you!" Ganondorf grunted, desperately surveying the ground in front of him. "I'm this close to the damn castle and I drop the key to the front door…" He peered over the boulder in front of him and gazed upon the castle. Its royal white brick was smeared with mud and brush and smoke. He scanned the front gate, drawbridge raised. Two turrets standing watch four stories high, linked together by a massive stone wall. Behind the front fortification lay the keep and throne room, joined together by the royal tower in the center. Outstanding the rest of the castle by far, the six story tower housed the royal family. It was the royal chambers. The King's chambers, and Zelda's chambers. Her chambers. "Her bed…where she sleeps. Where I'll sleep.."

Ganondorf snapped his attention to a bolt of lightning blasting the gravel water-road to his side. To his surprise, the detonator laid face up in a mound of sand, where the lightning impacted the ground. It was hidden under a dark shell of branches of a contemptuous looking bush. Its branches were like jagged hooks, directing him down toward the pile of sand. Ganondorf blinked in disbelief.

He crawled over and snatched the device and triggered the detonator. He tossed the device up on the hill. Then he waited, as he was instructed. He thought back to Trumann. "He better not be playing with me. This either works or he's going to be sorry he screwed with me…" Looking back, the mound of sand had turned to mud. The angry bush swayed in the storm.

* * *

In the castle throne room, the King sat in despair. He was a huge man, with a huge beard to match. His daughter, the Princess Zelda, stood a few feet away, standing near the back wall. Link stood before them awaiting the King's command. Link had arrived before the invading force, but too late for the Hylians to organize an effective resistance. Reinforcements would not arrive for hours, and by then the King feared the castle would be lost.

"Then it is decided. Link, take my daughter away from here and flee to Kakariko Village. It appears the brunt of their force is focused all here. You should have no problem, Impa shall be waiting for you there," The King commanded.

Link shook his head, "Your majesty, what of the ships and the soldiers with guns? Surely we cannot sneak past them, they must be waiting out on the plains if they are not already within the city."

The King's anger was visible, as was his despair. He had a snarl on his face and his fists were clenched. He could not believe his kingdom was caught off guard like this. Whoever was funding Ganondorf and his monstrous people must harbor some extreme contempt against Hyrule. And they certainly were not from this world. His daughter looked up at him with worried eyes.

A bright light blasted through the windows before the King could answer back. A high pitched buzz rang their eardrums as they all shielded their eyes. In an instant, the hill affront the castle had been reduced to a crater. The explosion had rocked the foundation of the castle knocking Link off his feet. The glass of the windows, ceiling high, cracked apart, as bits of earthen debris and rain showered inside. The chandelier above the throne snapped down from the ceiling and crashed down just inches in front of the King. All the torches were snuffed out by the wind and rain blistering in. Zelda ran to her father, who rose to his feet, outraged.

"What in the heavens was that!" He demanded, as royal servants rushed in the hall, one in particular especially shaken. Water dripped down from his face.

"Sir, an explosion just occurred in the entrance courtyard; it has wiped out the remaining guard detail!"

"That fool! What does he hope to accomplish by doing this!" The King shouted, pushing the broken chandelier out from his path. He trudged his way toward the door, but was held back by his guards.

"You must go to where it is safe, your majesty. Please, let us take you to the keep." The soldier beckoned.

Dust was falling from the ceiling. The throne room lay in shambles. The storm howled louder outside. Link rose to his feet, unsheathing his sword. Zelda stood behind him in wait. The King looked back to the two youths. He stroked his beard.

"All I can think of now is for you to take the sewer. It lets off into the moat, which is connected to the river that runs down past the market district and into New Hyrule. From there, you'll find the royal shuttle stored in hangar HTF3. If what you say is true, Link, then there is no other way to leave the city than by air. The army will be too concentrated out on the perimeter of the castle soon, so now is your chance. Quickly now, while the chaos is still amidst!" The King waved the two to follow as he jogged past the guards down the hallway. The storm had only picked up, chilling the interior of the castle with a freezing wind. Passing through a few rooms, they stopped at the kitchen. Two guards quickly entered the room, determined to keep the King in view.

The King bent down and lifted a floor tile up and exposed a ladder leading down to the basement. He pointed to the hole.

"So down here you must hasten. There is a metal grate that you will need to remove to access the sewer."

Link nodded and bent down to enter the basement. Zelda stopped him and looked hopelessly to her father.

"You are coming, too, father?" She already knew his answer. The King took her hands and nodded for Link to continue down. He brought her in close and embraced her.

"Link's going to protect you, and so am I. But I must make sure they do not find where you have fled. I love you, Zelda, as does Link, but it falls upon me now to protect the both of you."

Zelda cried into her father. He held her for a few more moments, then separated himself from her.

"I cannot say when we will see each other again, but so long as I know you are safe, I will stay strong," The father whispered to his daughter.

"As will I, father," She hugged him once more. Thunder rolled in the air, and the rain rapped at the window panes. "I love you."

She let go of her father and made her way down to the sub-level. The King replaced the kitchen floor tile. He stood, stooped, near the closed hatch. After a minute, the guards at the door beckoned him to leave with them. He rose and clasped his hands together, amongst the deafening storm and the bombarding of his city. He stood and he prayed.

The guards led him away.

* * *

Outside Ganondorf was laying on his back on the pathway below the hill. He moaned and sat up. The supposed incline in front of him was leveled and charred. The ground was strewn with burnt corpses. The rain pounded into the crater, washing away the blood in streams down the path.

"Holy shit," Ganondorf muttered, in awe. He heard the drumming of footsteps splashing through the flooded road. Behind him, the Gerudo army was galloping up, spinning and shouting, crazed. They jumped through the blood-river running down the road. Ganondorf helped himself up and followed the army. He walked through the crater of corpses, cursed. On their faces, the water dripped down with the blood as if they were crying. He cringed and soon he was before the castle gates. The drawbridge support chains and been blown clean off by the explosion, and the bridge itself lay crippled and cracked floating in the moat. The dark army of creatures crawled past Ganondorf. Unto the creaking bridge, they creeped through the crushing storms overcasting the sky. They craved the castle. They craved the bloodshed and the blood.

The blood.


	6. Life and Death

_5 years ago_

_The ship had landed in a charred field outside a White Hand outpost. The ground was misshapen and rugged. The scent of death filled the admiral's nose. The sun was setting and the sky was a twilight overcast; stretched and broken clouds above him like someone was pulling apart wool. The battlefield was quiet._

_He looked to the outpost; it was leveled. It was bombed by an earlier air raid by his own army. The ruins were still smoldering. There were the bodies. _

_He ran closer to inspect. They were laying, mangled, in a trench just outside the base. He looked down to see short soldier from the Mushroom Kingdom, toppled over the younger Hylian, as if he was killed trying to aid the child. He held a hypo of morphine in one hand, while a bag of medical supplies were strewn on the ground next to them. Blood littered the scene. He looked to further down the trench to see the red headed man slouched against the earthen wall, his hands placed on his stomach. His head lay limp. The officer jogged over to him. Blood stained his chest and hands. A mutter, an inaudible sound. The officer crouched down next to him and propped his head up. His eyes stared back weakly, the light flittering within. _

"_What…happened?" The officer asked softly._

_The dying man whispered back, almost silently, "Dec…oy". His eyes fell shut, releasing his last breath._

_The officer 's breathing became irregular. His heart was beating faster. He dropped down next to his soldier, and raised his head to the sky. The broken clouds still stretching in the amber sky line. The unit had been a decoy, a distraction. The outpost had been bombed afterwards, easily. This battle, they were meant to die. For what? For another strategic location elsewhere? _

_Does strategy not take into account lives lost? His commanding officer ordered him to send these men down. Down to their deaths. His son…_

_The officer rose back to his feet. He had to find his son._

_**The Evangelizer, hallway block C**_

Gunfire echoed through the halls of the Evangelizer. The pristinewhite walls were scorched by the battle. The hall itself ran straight, then at the end split into two corridors so as to form a T. The left hall led through another straight way, with the entrance of the hangar waiting halfway down. It was where Kirby, Pikachu, and Pichu needed to fight through to. They were situated behind what would be waist high crates for the White Faction soldiers. For their stature, Kirby and Pikachu and Pichu were able to hide behind them, as they stood just under eye level for the trio.

There were doors on either side of the hall in front of them, each releasing a different unit of troops. More and more piled in to block their path. Pikachu and Kirby were firing on the soldiers from behind cover, marking a few. More soldiers poured through the doors and grabbed their focus.

Taking account of the situation, they both counted fifteen soldiers. In a matter of seconds, they would rush down the corridor and overwhelm them.

Kirby sat behind a crate, Pichu near his side, mind racing. He twisted his arm backwards to fire blindly at the crowd ahead of him. He looked to Pikachu, a few feet on the other side of the hall, crouched behind another crate.

"I knew we should've brought the rocket launcher."

Pikachu looked back, smiled and shrugged. "We'll just have to make do then, huh?"

Pikachu unhooked the rucksack from his back and shuffled through the interior. He pulled out four grenades. He rolled two over to Kirby, who was still firing over the crate. Kirby's eyes lit up.

"This'll do," he said, picking up a grenade in one hand and pulling out the pin with the other. Simultaneously, Pikachu and Kirby threw the explosives over their cover. They immediately jumped out and fired their guns at the soon fleeing soldiers. Picking off a few, the grenades exploded clearing out a small chunk of the guards. There were still at least half the soldiers left, now charging toward the crates. Pikachu was already rolling out a grenade, and it bounced in front of the unit of troops. There was no time for them to retreat, and their cries were muffled by the explosion. Through the smoke, Pikachu and Kirby fired their guns, nailing the remainders of the soldiers. Then a burst of pistol fire shot from behind them. The two spun around and saw a soldier crumple to the ground, dead. Pichu had an iron grip on his pistol, pointed at the dead soldier. His face was smeared with terror. Slightly stunned, Kirby laid a hand on Pichu's shoulder for a brief moment. Pichu looked back to him and nodded morosely.

Kirby rounded the crate and moved on ahead. Pikachu grabbed Pichu and pushed him ahead. Kirby aimed his sights ahead, Pikachu behind.

"What do you think is taking Mewtwo so long?" Pikachu asked, carefully focusing on the back route.

"Stuck in traffic?" Kirby joked, approaching the cross section at the end of the hall. Each taking a separate wall, Kirby and Pikachu stepped to position themselves around the corner of either hall. Back against the wall, Pikachu frowned upon eye contact with Kirby.

"Seriously, what if he doesn't show up in time?"

Kirby check the clip of his gun, and began to reload. "I don't know. He said to leave without him."

Popping a new magazine into his gun, Kirby signaled to Pikachu. They both spun around the corner and shot down a couple soldiers down either hall.

"This way!" Pikachu heard Kirby shout from behind. He backed up slowly, checking for more soldiers down the hall. He quickly grabbed Pichu and led him down the opposite hall Kirby ran down. He led them into a small restroom off the hall. They jumped inside and Kirby closed the door.

"More will be coming, let's wait in here for a few moments." Kirby said, turning back to the others.

"What if we have to leave him, Kirby? I've known Mewtwo a long time. He has his problems; so do we all. But I don't think I can abandon him."

"Pikachu, he told us explicitly to leave him if it came to it. He's your friend and so am I, and I hope if I told you what he did, you'd do the same. But we can't worry about this now."

A quick march of footsteps could be heard outside their door, and voices coming from down the hall.

Kirby approached the door. "The hangar is three doors down this hall," he said, pointing towards the right. As soon as he opened the door, he knew he would be surrounded on either side. "Any plans?"

Pikachu searched through his bag. Coming up empty, Pikachu shook his head. Kirby bit his lip.

"Alright. So who wants to run out at grab their attention while the other two escape?" Kirby suggested, showing a weak smile.

"No," Pikachu replied clearly.

Kirby held his hands up in defense, "Okay, right, okay. Just kidding." He begun to scratch his head. "So…what now?"

They sat together, lost in thought.

"It sure would be great if Mewtwo came by about now. Do some heroic back flips and psychic stuff…" Kirby listened at the door to hear if his wish came true. It had not. He sighed.

Pikachu sat with the final grenade clutched in his hand. He looked down at it, resigned.

"Looks like we got one play left, then," Pikachu said, looking back up to Kirby. Kirby eyed him suspiciously. Pikachu spoke again, resolutely, "I'll be the distraction."

"No. Come on, I was joking Pikachu, no one is being a hero here." Kirby tried to swipe the grenade from Pikachu, who pulled his hand back.

"You know this is the only real way out of this, or else you wouldn't have suggested it."

"I was joking!" Kirby protested.

"Only half joking, and you know it. I know this isn't opportune, but we got to do something fast or else no one is getting out of here."

Kirby was silent. Pikachu got up and propped his bag over his shoulder and walked to Kirby.

"I got to tell you about the shard, where it is." Pikachu stated, one hand on the door.

Kirby interrupted, "How about later?" He proceeded to take hold of Pikachu hand, who looked down in surprise. Kirby pulled the door open and lunged out in the hall, firing off his gun in the direction he landed. Following a shout from his friend, Pikachu jumped through the door and began firing in the other direction. Pichu shot up from the corner of the bathroom. He stopped before reaching the door, hearing gun fire sounding in the hall. He couldn't see Kirby or Pikachu from the room. Bullets were ricocheting off the walls, plastering the white walls with blackened burns. The alarm sirens were blasting his ears. Pichu heard a familiar yelp, and quickly shut his eyes. He was scared. He wanted to help, but he could not gather the courage to get close to the door. Instead, he closed the door. He quickly ran back to the corner of the room, crouching down in the corner. His eyes were closed, but still tears came through. Then, a moment later the gunfire halted. He heard a muffled voice and what he thought to be a moan. He reluctantly looked up to see the door slide open. Kirby was on the other side, supporting Pikachu on one shoulder. Blood was trickling down from Pikachu's abdomen. Kirby looked sullen. Pikachu looked worse.

Kirby said, with a weak wave, "Time to go, kid."

Pichu scrambled to Pikachu's side. Pikachu flashed a faint smile. "I'm fine, Pichu. Don't worry."

The look on Kirby's face did not reassure Pichu. Neither did the drops of red that sprinkled the metallic white tile. The three of them hurried down a few more doors and reached the hangar bay. Before opening the door Kirby leaned off Pikachu, who propped himself up with one hand on the wall. Kirby switched the door open. To their surprise, no one was waiting for them. The hangar was large, spanning at least two hundred feet in both length and width. The expanse was widely emptied. A single shuttle was parked on the middle of the reflective crystal-steel tile. High arching pillars against the bitter steel walls, frigid. The blue energy force field that separated the interior and space was waving and shivering. The sirens were silenced in the room. The only thing to flash life was the red lit switch to enable and disable the airlock. It glowed warmly next to the entrance to the hangar.

Pikachu coughed.

The shuttle was facing the black atmosphere. The on ramp was already lowered, declined from the back, welcoming the three. Pichu ran ahead to the ramp, as Kirby hobbled with Pikachu across the chilled floor. Before either could protest, Pichu scampered into the ship. Before entering the ship, Pikachu held up his hand. They stopped.

Breathing heavily, Pikachu supported himself on one of the beams attached to the ramp. "So now we wait…"

Still looking forlorn, Kirby responded. "Pikachu, we have to get out of here. I haven't even heard any kind of commotion from their direction."

Pikachu cringed. He was pained. "I…" trailing off, Kirby interrupted.

"We'll wait five minutes, but anything comes through that door that isn't Mewtwo, we leave." With a slow nod from Pikachu, Kirby propped his friend back on his shoulder. "Now let's get you settled down in here while we wait."

Before stepping on the ramp, the hangar bay door slid open. Kirby and Pikachu turned their attention to the entrants. It was Mewtwo. And Jigglypuff. And five soldiers, pointing their guns past them to Kirby and Pikachu.

"Don't move!" The soldiers shouted. Jigglypuff, they could now see, was being restrained. Mewtwo stood free.

There was a numbing silence in the domain. They looked upon Mewtwo, confused.

"Drop your weapons!" Mewtwo continued his icy stare.

They did as they were commanded. "W..what's going on?" Pikachu directed his question to Mewtwo. "What…is this?"

"A betrayal. Of friendship. Of trust. Of character," Mewtwo said. Under his blank face was sorrow.

"You were always known to be blunt," Kirby hissed, "You son of a bitch."

"I d..don't understand…why, Mewtwo?" Pikachu was clutching his wound.

"No, this makes sense," Kirby growled, "I knew there was something wrong in this guy's head, but I just never assumed he was actually completely insane. I suppose this is our fault for trusting a psychopath."

Mewtwo averted his gaze to the floor. "Step away from the ship, please."

Jigglypuff was still struggling with her captors behind Mewtwo. One soldier butted her with the end of his gun, settling her down.

"No. We're leaving Mewtwo." Kirby said defiantly.

"And you would leave Jigglypuff, then?" He asked.

Kirby locked eyes with Jigglypuff. Communication had been made. There was an understanding.

"We were planning on leaving you, too, Mewtwo." Kirby said.

Mewtwo shook his head in remorse, "Kirby…please, just give up. Just understand…"

"Understand what? That you're a coward?"

"You're close minded, Kirby. This is not about me."

"Like hell it's not!"

"This does not have to be violent, there could be understanding here," Mewtwo tried reasoning, "If you would just open your mind to it."

"Why don't you try closing your mind back with your mouth! Look at what Trumann's doing, look what he's creating. His words may seem to hold truth, but you should know better than any of us what truth equates to!"

"Kirby…" It was from Pikachu. Kirby looked to his friend and gave a quick wink.

"Remember what they did to Kanto? Or do you not care? That's right, yeah, you don't care do you? You don't give a damn about anything. You think you're stoicism and apathy is going to get you by in life? That it'll get you what you're looking for?"

"Kirby, you can't even come close to understanding this…"

"I can understand you perfectly! You are being used!" Kirby said, giving emphasis to each of his last words.

"This is not about me!" Mewtwo raised his voice and stepped forward. Kirby immediately dropped to the ground toward his discarded weapon. All the soldiers propped their guns waist high, but could not get a shot off before Jigglypuff broke free from the distracted troops. A sharp yell from the soldier holding her echoed out and the others averted their attention over to Jigglypuff. She was already lunging toward Mewtwo when Kirby, and soon afterwards Pikachu, began firing upon the soldiers.

Jigglypuff collided with Mewtwo and both landed on the ground. She slapped at his face with tremendous fervor, but was pushed off in a few seconds. Mewtwo, regaining his composure, tossed Jigglypuff right into the midst of the gunfire between Kirby, Pikachu, and the troops. Mewtwo looked on from the side and noticed the hangar bay door open. More troops were heading in to reinforce. Jigglypuff recovered and opted to stumble her way forward to the ship. Bullets fizzled near his eardrums and Mewtwo shot up his hands to pull up a force field. He felt the pressure of bullets beat against the wall he just created. It was Kirby firing in his direction.

Now taking note of the extra units of soldiers rushing in, Kirby knew there was no way they could escape the hangar before the mass of soldiers overcame them. Without thought, he aimed his gun towards the glowing red button on the wall. He managed to fire a single bullet before being grazed in the arm by another. He retracted his arm backwards painfully, releasing his grip on his weapon. He then heard horrified yells and what sounded like an electrical power shortage behind him. The barrier door powered down; the airlock had been released. In an instant, the oxygen was sucked out of the hangar with all the soldiers, too. Kirby managed to grab hold of Pikachu as they were propelled into the back of the ship. Kirby had enough time to glimpse Mewtwo create a surrounding force field, remaining where he stood while the soldiers were sucked out into the black atmosphere.

Bullets were spraying all over the hangar; each soldier gripped tightly on the triggers as they were inevitably ripped out into space. The bullets riddled the ship, the back side, the ramp, clipping the wings, and bouncing off the surfaces around and into the loading dock. Kirby winced as he felt a force barrel into his body. He was thrown back, smashing into the rear interior wall of the ship and back down, colliding hard with the cold, metal floor. The pressure in chest pinned him to the ground.

"Shut the door!" Kirby managed to croak out, hoping someone would acknowledge it. Face to the floor, Kirby could not raise himself up to see anything except what was directly in front of him. He could clearly see the hangar, as the ship ramp was slowing rising. Mewtwo stood, still. In all the years Kirby knew Mewtwo, he had only displayed one emotion—anger. The ramp had closed. What Mewtwo displayed on his face was not anger. Kirby dropped his face to the frozen floor.

He was cold.


	7. Faith and the Unknown

_5 years ago_

_There he lay. His red cap overturned on the ground near his resting head. His arm crossed his chest, his other outstretched to his side. His palm to the sky, a set of orbs, half white and half red, scattered, empty. His breath had left him. Body scorched, residue of soot lined his clothes. _

_The officer knelt next to his son. He did not budge for an hour, silently staring, silently crying. The night shadowed the skyline, overwhelming the clouds. The wind had died and all had stopped. _

_After light had gone, the officer eased his trembling hand to feel the body. It was stiff and hard. He lost control and fell over his son, sobbing. No warmth, no life. The tears flowed incessantly. _

_There was a voice._

"_I apologize for this." Its voice was deep and reverberated in his ear drums. Dark and mysterious like the night sky above him. Looking around, the officer flinched upon seeing a floating white hand. It was larger than him and was illuminated by a white glow. _

"_Y-you…" he managed to sputter out._

"_I, yes." It spoke without a mouth, without restrictions. It was levitating, freely._

_The officer did not reach for his gun. He was distraught and felt it pointless. He stared on at the phantom in front of him for a time before speaking again._

"_Wh…what are you doing?" with a tremble in his voice._

"_Observing." Its voice had rested in the officer's head, formulating words from nothing._

"_For…what?" The officer felt his hand inching toward his weapon._

"_For that." _

_The officer's hand froze. He felt completely exposed, his greatest enemy was just a few feet in front of him and he was defenseless. But he felt nothing. No fear, no anger, no feeling. Apathy._

"_It is a natural inclination, I understand," Its voice numbed his pains._

_The officer positioned himself between his son and the illuminated hand, as if to protect. He was kneeling. _

_The hand lowered, its fingers planting onto the soil. "We should talk."_

_The officer stared on through the hand. His eyes looking not out, but inward. The hand could notice._

"_See, that is the problem with you soldiers. Men like you live in glass houses. You can see the world outside, but you stay inside. And then when someone throws a rock and shatters that glass, you get upset. We open you up, so you can walk amongst the living. We break the barrier. And what do you do? You rebuild your walls, this time in wood. And when we burn that down, you protest and rebuild in metal and concrete. You build up your walls so heavily, you cannot even see the world any more. You begin to focus on your own little world. The world you've created." _

_The officer flashed a look of half confusion. The hand spoke again._

"_This is not what it seems, you know."_

"_My son…is dead. This is what it is," the officer replied back, icily. _

"_Of course. There is that. But what happened here, that is what you need to question."_

"_My son is dead…I don't care what happened here! My only son is dead!"_

"_And now you are allowing your emotions to take control."_

"_What are you doing here?" he viciously spit out, "Are you trying to mock me?"_

"_Why am I here? That is a curious question. Why are you there? Why are you letting me speak? Maybe you are distraught and want answers, but you know I cannot have the answers you want. No, you have been conditioned to believe my words as false because I am a simple enemy to the universe. But inside of you, what makes you human wishes for truth in my words. What makes you human hopes for something more. You are unsatisfied." The hand glided closer to the officer, now only a couple feet away. The officer leaned back to guard his son's body._

"_You are building up walls, of the steel and concrete kind. The anger is blinding you." The hand hesitated, as if in thought. "As for if I am mocking you, I cannot say that is the truth. The truth for me, at least. You might believe the truth that I am here to ridicule your loss. But those are the notions you must throw away, my friend. Do away with your preconceived notions. Truth is not indisputable. Truth is subjective."_

"_Stop…"The officer said, with tears forming in his eyes._

"_The boy is no more. You must understand staying by him longer can only hurt you more."_

"_Nnng…"The officer spun around and fell onto his son's stiff body._

"_Look at yourself," the hand watched as the distraught man slowly raised his trembling body. He was in a fit of rage and sorrow and confusion. Too angry to stay silent, too forlorn to scream. _

"_Listen to me, now. I have no desire to speak further with you. If you want to believe the truth your military will have you to believe, it is your choice. However, I want you to reach into the boy's jacket and remove the Poke Ball."_

_The officer did as he was told, for a reason he did not know. He found the capsule clutched in his boy's hand under the jacket. He released it from his son's rigid grasp. He held it in his palm, examining it closely. He could feel the force inside. _

"_Now follow me, if you would," the hand turned and proceeded to glide away._

_The officer rose to his feet. After a glance at the orb in his hand, he quickly pocketed it and croaked, "I'm not going with you."_

_The hand simply continued on his path. The officer heard his voice, "And that's the truth?"_

_In a minute, the illuminated figure disappeared under the cover of night. The officer stumbled forward. It was pitch black. He could feel the soil beneath his feet, but could not see it. He walked on._

_**Onett, Safety Zone**_

They were looking at him. All of them. He could feel it. The boy held his head low and maneuvered his way through the crowd of refugees. They were chatting nervously with each other, partially comforted in the advertised safety of the refugee camp. Nothing protected the settlement but the few armed guards near the gate. No roof sheltered the civilians, and a shoddy mess of sheets and wooden posts gave the camp a perimeter enclosure. There were hundreds of people crowded in the camp. Most were pushing and shoving their ways to the transport ships near the back.

The boy knew he had to get on one of those ships if he wanted to keep his promise. He had to get off Onett. He headed toward the transportation hub. A throng of people were between him and the station. They were shouting and thrusting angry hands into the air. He waded and squeezed into the crowd, all with attention focused toward the station. The boy bumped through arms and legs, and finally emerged on the other side. There was one ship grounded behind a wired fence, three times the height of the official stationed at its gate. He was signaling for the crowd to settle down.

Someone pushed into the boy from behind. "I've got family on Corneria!" An old, rough, and angry looking man stood pointing an accusatory finger at the official. The wind began to pick up, blowing the man's disheveled hair back and forth.

The official half surrendered his hands up in front of him. "Regardless, I can do nothing. This last ship is reserved for…" His voice trailed off.

"No, don't stop; tell us why we can't see our families! Tell us who is more important than us!"

"Look, I can't let you on this ship," the official was beginning to sweat. Things were spiraling out of control and he was not equipped to fend off a mob of refugees. "If you would please just step back in line, I'm sure there will be transports arriving momentarily."

"We can't wait any longer! Haven't you noticed that we're being invaded!" The wind began to howl, sweeping in the direction of the official.

The man rushed forward and grabbed at the official's collar with both hands. Confusion and terror washed over his captive's face.

"What are you doing?" He sputtered, "I'm not…I'm just…"

The shouting grew louder. Desperation echoed in the refugees voices. The wind strengthened, whipping through the air. They began inching forward, pushing the boy aside. The boy tried to look through the crowd, but they were overtaking him in multitude. He could no longer see the official, nor hear him, over the perturbed refugees. They began bumping into him, and then more aggressively. He was knocked to his knees as one after another they pushed their way to the front of the gate. He opened his mouth to speak out, but he began sweating. Twice he felt his words stop short at his throat. His mind assured him it was not terror but logic that restricted his voice. He was told there was nothing he could do. The point was futile. Reasoning tried to comfort him. Betray him.

He was on his hands and knees, paralyzed. It was not logic.

Someone took hold of the boys arm and jerked his body backwards. He was not pulled up, but down. He had to crawl awkwardly off his palms and toes to keep himself from being dragged on the ground. Through the forest of legs he was led. Like trees, they were browned with dirt and soil, the trunks rose high. The torso-canopy blocked out the sun, the frondescence swayed along to the wind. Their roots shook the ground, stealing the sustenance of the earth. Their leaves strongly fixed off their unjustly branches. The bark, stiff and stubborn, covered their being, shielded them. Blinded them.

Sunlight.

"Lucas?" The boy was released. They had emerged from the forest.

Lucas looked up at the figure that had carried him through. He wore, oddly, an off-white space suit begrimed with dust and fire burns. His head was encompassed by an ovular glass helmet with a kind of drooping antennae sprouting up from the center. He addressed the boy with a suspicious glare.

"Where's Ness, kid?"

Lucas fixed open his mouth and shook his head. He had seen this stout man before. Briefly, five years ago. His name was Olimar.

"Well?" Olimar looked impatient, and was coaxing Lucas to speak up.

Lucas's mind froze. His thoughts stopped. He had seen this stout man before. Captain Olimar. An arms dealer.

"Look, you had to have seen Ness. Do you even remember me?"

He had sold supplies to all sides in the first war. His discretion was lacking.

Olimar rolled his eyes and picked Lucas up. He grabbed his hand and led him away from the transport ship.

"I saw you back there. I know you heroes like to try to intervene in situations like that, but now is not the time," he checked back at the crowd, chaotic in nature. "When people get like that, there is no changing of minds. You'd have ended up mincemeat."

The two walked among the tents scattered across the camp. Fires were arranged, slowly cooking or boiling what little the refugees had. There were many lying famished or injured or dying. The wind began to subside.

"Yup, good thing I spotted you. Although, by the looks of it, you really don't look like you'd have said anything. You can speak, right?"

"…Yes."

He had only seen the captain once before. He had heard his name more. He was the reason why the Super Smash Brothers were able to repel the White Hands, and the reason the White Hands became a force to begin with.

"Then where's Ness? He called me a few minutes after the first ship touched down on Onett," The space captain pointed to the sky, miles away, above the city of Onett. It was enshrouded in a cloud of transgression. "He's lucky I was here, too, I was leaving yesterday but my ship started falling apart on me. The shock absorber flattened out, the starboard ionium jet was clogged, the omega stabilizer got dented somehow…hell, even my radio is bugging out."

Lucas was lost in thought. He was thinking back to Ness. The collapsed subway tunnel. The fire and the gun shots. The message Ness sent into his brain…

Olimar grabbed his attention, "Hey? Lucas?" They stopped walking, reaching the entrance of the Safety Zone.

Lucas reverted back to the captain. Ness had transmitted the thought, among many, to "trust the captain". He looked at the off-worlder with fleeting suspicion.

"We were separated…" Lucas immediately said, "Ness. I don't know where he is."

Olimar only nodded his head.

"I need to…Mario. I have to help him. And Link, and Fox…and Pikachu…"

Olimar raised his brow, "And Ness?"

Lucas shook his head in a rare display of confidence, "He did not tell me that."

Olimar shrugged, "Okay. My ship's over that hill there," He said, motioning past the gate. "Let's get going, Mushroom Kingdom is a day's travel from here."

Lucas followed the arms dealer. He did not trust him. But he trusted Ness.

_**The Halberd, sleeping quarters**_

He heard it again. He woke up from a short sleep to the sound of malicious laughter. Pigma.

Fox got up from his cot and walked over to the sink to wash his face, to clear his mind. Pigma's laugh was haunting him.

"Hey furball, we will be entering Pop Star airspace in ten minutes," Officer Vul had poked his head in. "Meta Knight wants to see you before we get there, so get a move on."

Fox glared in his direction and grunted. He picked up a towel and dried his face. He sighed and walked out of the room. A short walk down the hall and up the elevator, Fox entered the bridge. He passed Officer Vul standing tall aside the elevator door. Meta Knight was at the glass, overlooking the ship.

"It will be dangerous," Meta Knight said, turning to face Fox. "There is strife on Pop Star, much like there was five years ago."

"I'll be fine," Fox heard himself say.

Meta Knight nodded. "ROB is nearly fixed. We were able to extract data he received before he was damaged. He downloaded files relating to Pigma Dengar."

Fox shuddered at the mention of his name.

"There is a list of locations he has been in the past few days, as well as the last contacts he has met with."

"He must have searched them up right before Pigma…destroyed the Great Fox.." Fox commented sadly.

"Tell him what were in the files!" Vul chimed in eagerly, "…Sir."

Meta Knight took a moment's glare at his officer, enough to disturb his ego.

"What we found, Fox, were six other names, among others. We know these men, and they have associated themselves with Pigma recently."

"Who?"

"Bowser, Wario, Ganondorf, Mewtwo, Captain Falcon, and Luigi."

"So…so what? What does that mean?"

"It means Pigma has spoken to them. That is all." Meta Knight said, sounding unconvinced. "While we cannot prove anything definitively, there is a connection. We know nothing else."

"Traitors!" Vul squawked, "Seven deadly sinners, that's what they are!"

"Vul," Meta Knight turned to the bird, "Wait outside."

"But.." In a fit of embarrassment, the officer nodded angrily and stepped out of the bridge.

Fox shook his head, "As crazy as it sounds, Vul could be right. We don't know what to expect."

"No. We also cannot speculate to what ROB was unable to obtain before his process was disrupted. But these names prove my suspicions. This war is not restricted to our planets, but across the galaxy. There is no doubt we will meet our old compatriots yet again. But we must be careful who to trust."

"And who can we trust?"

Meta Knight turned back to the glass. "I do not know. I plan to assist my planet, however. Then I will go to Earth."

Fox looked worried. He sensed the answer to his question before he asked it, "Why Earth?"

"Snake."

Before Fox could express his concern, Officer Vul rushed in. "Sir! We just picked up something on the radar! Sensors indicate a large concentration of ships…there's a lot of radio chatter, sir. Something seems to be going on down there. Something big."

"Take us in, officer. Prepare for combat."

Officer Vul gulped, and saluted his captain, "Sir!" He ran back out.

Fox stepped up next to Meta Knight. "Are you sure about this?"

Meta Knight did not say anything. The Halberd headed into the unknown.

_**Pop Star Airspace, The Evangelizer**_

Pichu frantically stumbled through the shuttle. It was dark and the docking bay was lit with a dim flashing red light. Kirby and Pikachu lay motionless in a dark pool of blood. Jigglypuff was slumped against the back wall. He was trembling, from the fear and the cold. He crawled through a doorway into the cabin.

The dashboard was lit up with bright colored lights. Dials and switches littered the control panel. Pichu had no clue as to how to operate the ship and begun to panic. "The red dial…to your left" a voice coughed out from behind.

Pichu spun around to see Kirby hunched on the metal door frame. Blood was oozing out of his left shoulder, and his mouth was spattered with the same. He wheezed and coughed and pointed again toward the control board, "The…the left one!" He slumped down on the floor. Pichu spun the dial quickly and looked back to Kirby lying on the ground. Pichu heard a mutter from his collapsed body over the roar of the engines firing up. "Big…red.." Pichu scanned the board for the biggest of the red buttons and slammed his hand on it. It did not budge.

"Kirby! It's not working, it's not working!" Pichu frantically turned to Kirby, now crawling across the floor, staining the metal with a trail of blood. "Pull it…pull!" His voice scratched up his throat.

Pichu did as he was told, and the ship shook. The floor quaked and Pichu could feel the elevation. The ship was hovering. Pichu felt Kirby raise himself off his body. Kirby grabbed Pichu's hand and placed it on the throttle. "Drive." Kirby whispered into his ear, before pushing off his trembling body. Kirby stumbled back through the door and fell to the ground next to Pikachu. It took all his strength to pull his friend upright. They sat, Kirby holding Pikachu, leaning against the side wall. Pikachu's eyes opened weakly. They were flickering.

"I've…gotta…" Pikachu winced, "I…don't have long...do I?"

"You're fine," Kirby was breathing heavily, "You're going to be fine."

He glanced down at his friend. There were new bullet wounds trailing up Pikachu's chest.

"Time to talk…then…" Pikachu was struggling to breathe, and tried to slow himself down. "What's bothered me all these years was that whenever the crystal shards were mentioned or depicted…in my research I mean…the phrase 'edge of power' followed… I never thought anything…about it until now…What if we made a mistake…what if the crystal shards were something more…" Pikachu's eyes widened with terror, "what if they're found…?"

Tears trickled down Pikachu's cheek. The wound was worse than Kirby thought. Pikachu didn't have long.

"Pikachu…!" Kirby swallowed hard, trying to push back his emotions. Kirby closed his eyes. He couldn't bear to witness the true real fear reflected on Pikachu's face. His friend was about to die, and all he could think about was how appalled he was by it. By him. Kirby embraced his friend, sobbing, helpless.

"Kirb..y….I need to…tell you s…something now…okay?" Pikachu grimaced in pain, eyes slowly drooping down.

"Y..yeah, I'm ready…"

"I…tempt…the elm…foe. Mewtwo is…" Pikachu coughed up blood, his words barely audible now, "he's listening..." Pikachu slowly, weakly rose his arm to point to his head, "Help Pi..chu help y..ou…Sor..rry...I couldn't…help..mo…"

He trailed off; he closed his eyes.

"It's okay…it's okay," Kirby couldn't let go of his hand. He couldn't let go of his friend.


	8. The Storm Builds

Before I don't do anything for the rest of Winter Break, I'll post up a short little chapter I've had on the back burner for a little while now. The story is finally unraveling enough to where it is now becoming relevant. Thanks for the support so far guys, and have a good holiday break in case I don't get anything out before then.

* * *

_5 years ago  
_

_Transaction. Three crates of machine guns. One case of explosives, C4 and grenades. Supplier: short man in space suit. Confirmed as expected target. Paid in cash. Receiver: irrelevant. _

_Yoshi scribbled the words in ink unto a small notepad. He stuffed it into his rucksack. He was laying prone, observing an exchange from a cliff top. He was still under the shade of the forest's canopy above, and the exotic tree trunks were scattered around everywhere, bolted into the ground. The cliff was only a few meters up from the surface level, and Yoshi hid himself in a vibrantly green bush. The forestry around camouflaged him well because of his green skin. The pebbles and dried grass brushed at his chin while he watched. He cautiously crawled back until he was a safe enough distance back. He then rose to a crouched stance and turned to the cave he had a half an hour ago exited from. He ducked inside and began his trek back. _

_The ceiling was low and rocky, and the farther he walked into the cave, the less the light could guide him. It was when he knocked his head on the jagged walls that he pulled out his flashlight. As he expected, the tunnel began to get thinner and more compact. Soon he would reach a small hole in the wall he would have to crawl through. From there, the cave would widen in size again and he would be able to walk again. It would still be a little way until he reached the mouth of the cave after that, remembering he would have to wind through the natural twists and turns of the tunnel. _

_After a couple minutes, he got on his hands and knees and crawled to the opening in the rock wall. Biting down on his flashlight, he pushed himself through the crevice, illuminating the tunnel on the other side. With half his body through, he looked ahead of him. A set of guns were pointed down at him. They were Waddles Dees, inhabitants of the world. Behind them stood a large blue penguin-like bird, dressed in unusual battle attire—a royal red cloak and silk hat featuring a golden trim—and wielding a hammer to match his size. Yoshi guessed to be King Dedede, the assumed ruler of Pop Star. _

_Yoshi quickly spat out his flashlight and tried to calm the soldiers, "Easy now, I'm a friend."_

_King Dedede parted two Waddle Dees with his massive arms. He walked to Yoshi, laying on his back, and leered over him. His voice, deep, reverberated in the cave, "Who the hell are you?"_

"_A friend, a friend!" Yoshi began to struggle his way out of the crevice he was stuck in, "If you could just let me free myself…"_

_King Dedede dropped his hammer and grabbed both of Yoshi's arms and dragged him out of the wall. He tossed him into the band of stout soldiers behind. Yoshi hit the ground, bruising his chin._

"_Much obliged, your majesty," he coughed._

_By the time Yoshi could look up again, Dedede had already retrieved his hammer and had it pointed in his direction. "You seem to know who I am, but you still have not told me who you are. You will not be able to answer the next time I have to ask."_

"_Yoshi," the green dinosaur quickly replied, feeling the pressure of the guns sticking into his sides, "Here, look, I am an informant for Mario. I work with the Smashers, I am a friend."_

_Yoshi opened his rucksack and started to shuffle around. King Dedede, however, ripped the bag from Yoshi's hands and tossed it on the ground. The contents spilled over into the darkness. Yoshi could feel the King's cold glare. Yoshi raised his hands, "Okay. Okay, never mind."_

"_I have never heard of you, Yoshi. The Smash Brothers have not spoken of you."_

"_I know; they wouldn't. I am an informant, I report directly to Mario. I only work with him. I gather information for him, and relay messages and things of the such," Yoshi replied nervously._

_A Waddle Dee, who had been searching the contents of the rucksack, found the notepad Yoshi had written on to report the transaction that had occurred prior. He tugged on Dedede's robe and handed him the notepad. He scanned over the first pages and leered in Yoshi's direction._

"_You are a spy then?" King Dedede asked crossly, "I do not trust spies."_

"_An informant, if you would. Not a spy, I am an informant," Yoshi reassured, "I'm on your side, you can be sure. If you read that, you can see. I was observing the White Hand Army's deal that just took place just ten minutes ago. I was returning to report to Mario, so maybe we can go together and clear things up with Mario himself?"_

_Dedede continued his glare at Yoshi for a moment. "Pick up your things. You're with us now."_

_Yoshi nodded rapidly. He proceeded to clean up what he could and walked back to Dedede examining the crevice in the wall. _

"_What's on the other side?" The great bird asked._

"_It leads to a clearing, where the deal just went down. There's a large concentration of enemies on the other side, sir."_

_The King looked at the size of the hole. There was no way he could fit through. _

"_If I may ask, sir," Yoshi added, "What are you doing in a cave, out here?"_

_Dedede looked angrily back at his new companion, "This is war. What are any of us doing here?"_

_He walked past Yoshi and signaled for his troops to follow. They all rushed into formation and bumbled on. Yoshi could only follow._

_**Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach's Castle**_

The rain pattered on the windowpane, obscuring the world outside. The water dripped down and formed a small deposit of liquid on the sill. Toadsworth, Peach's royal advisor, was glum. It had been two days since Mario's brother had gone missing. Two days, too, since contact with the rest of the galaxy ceased. Toadsworth was looking for any reason to raise spirits. The sun was approaching the horizon, but its shine was dulled by the clouds and precipitation. It would be nightfall soon.

Princess Peach sat, waiting nervously on her throne. Toadsworth, with cane in hand, hobbled back on his tired legs to her side.

"Your majesty, I suggest you head upstairs for the day. Soon, evening will come and this dreadful rain looks determined on continuing well past the night."

The Princess gave a warm smile to her old friend. "If it's all the same to you, I would like to wait for Mario to return first. You need not wait up for me."

Toadsworth gave a quick half-bow. "Of course, Princess." He slowly made his way down the few steps leading up to the throne and walked across the carpeting that stretched to the doors. They were wide and half the height of the room. To open, the two Toad guards stationed at either side would have to pull on each of the golden crested handles of the doors. However, as Toadsworth was halfway across the throne room the doors were pushed open, creaking as the heavy wood scratched the floor. Mario stepped in, Yoshi behind, with water dripping to the floor.

"Ah! Master Mario, quite the coincidence for you to arrive! I was just telling the Princess here to retire, but she was insistent upon staying up until you returned." He clasped his hands together on the ball of his cane; his old wrinkled smile welcomed the visitors. Mario rested a hand on Toadsworth's shoulder, greeting him. Mario continued down the carpet to meet with the Princess, his feet producing puddles of water with every step. Yoshi remained near the door.

As Mario approached the Princess, he stopped. He removed his hat to reveal his sodden hair plastered to his head. His drooping mustache mimicked his frown. He only shook his head. The Princess rose and placed her gloved hands upon his face, lifting it to meet his eyes. She could not tell whether or not his eyes were wet from tears or rain.

"We will find him," Princess Peach reassured him, "We will."

"It's been two days. All his things are still at our house. And now we can't get into communication with any of the other planets?" Mario released himself from the Princess and turned to the door. "Yoshi and I have been searching all over town, and we can't find anyone who even recalls when they last saw Luigi." He turned back to the Princess. "Is Daisy still here?"

She nodded, "She says she will not leave until Luigi is found."

Mario raised his hands to massage his forehead. "She still has a kingdom of her own to rule. If we've lost communication, she must have, too. She should leave; she can't help here."

"Mario, she's not going to leave Luigi." Peach responded, somewhat offended.

"Neither am I. But look what good that has done."

"This is not your fault Mario, and Daisy can stay until she feels comfortable enough to leave. We are not going to make decisions for her."

Mario tossed an arm up, "Right, fine. I'm going to go back out. We still have not checked the smaller settlements to the east. With any luck, they'll know something."

Before Mario could descend the steps, he noticed Toadsworth waving his cane in the air near the door. He called to them hoarsely.

"Hold! Hold please!" It took him a painstaking minute to totter back to the couple. Nevertheless, the two waited patiently. Slightly wheezing, the old man handed Mario a folded piece of parchment when he approached.

"What's this?" Mario asked while unfolding the paper. Scanning over the writing, he looked back to Toadsworth. "Who sent this?"

"I do believe it was anonymous, good sir." Toadsworth croaked, gripping his cane for strength.

"What is it?" Peach questioned.

"An anonymous tip concerning Luigi." Mario answered suspiciously.

"Well this is most fortuitous news, Master Mario!" said Toadsworth.

Peach looked over Mario's shoulder at the note to read the contents. "Are you going to go, Mario? Whoever wrote that said they saw him in Rogueport. That is a day's travel, among other concerns." Her voice had an air of caution in it.

"I know," Mario looked over the note again. "I'll go with Yoshi. We'll be back tomorrow."

Peach gave Mario a kiss on the cheek and bade him farewell.

Mario nodded, graciously shook Toadsworth's hand, and walked down to the door. As he approached the door, he motioned for Yoshi to follow. Upon exiting the castle, Yoshi spoke to Mario.

"So where are we going?"

"Rogueport." He noticed Yoshi sighed and responded in turn, "It's our only lead, Yoshi; I would not go there for any other reason."

Yoshi smiled back, "Don't get me wrong, Mario, I'm happy to accompany you. It's just I think I've seen enough of Wario for one lifetime."

Mario let out a short laugh, "Me too. Let's just hope we find Luigi before this mess gets out of hand."

"You know, I could do this, Mario. You can stay here and help the Princess with this communications problem."

"Thanks, Yoshi, but I'm Luigi's brother. I'm not supposed to be the hero of Mushroom Kingdom anymore. Peach needs the support of the people more than I do. She can fix this. I need to find my brother. I owe him that much, after all we've been through. After all he's been through…"

Mario took his hat back out from his pocket and refixed it upon his head. He shifted it back and forth and pulled the bill down to cover his face from the rain. Yoshi silently nodded and then walked in front of Mario, lowering his knees to the ground.

"We'll get there faster if you hop on." Yoshi proposed.

Mario nodded with a sad smile. They rode off under the rainfall.


	9. Craving and Destitution

_5 years ago_

_It was not long into following King Dedede that Yoshi began to worry. He had been walking closely behind the King for an hour without as much as a whisper from anyone. He knew the forest on Pop Star was vast, but this exceeded Yoshi's expectations. If they wound through more of the forest maze, he feared he would not be able to find his way back to his ship. But what was starting to frighten Yoshi more were the sounds of gunfire growing louder with every minute further they walked. Yoshi was not a soldier. He felt King Dedede thought otherwise. _

_The trees began to dwindle in number as they moved onward, and Yoshi noticed the vegetation lightly speckled with ashen dust. Up ahead in the cover of the forest was a run-down ruin of an old station. It was burnt some time ago and its ashen remains littered the surrounding area. The group approached the wreck, and Yoshi looked around. The scenery was of pale greenery and crumbling machinery and torment. The desolated factory, with its jagged half-walls and smoky linoleum curled up, crisped edges stabbing out. It made him shiver. _

_King Dedede's toadies fanned the station, obviously searching for something. The rubble of the building suggested it was only a single story establishment. Each room was cleared out and covered in a blanket of ash. _

"_You said you worked under Mario?"Yoshi heard Dedede ask._

_Yoshi wiped a finger across the powdered walls, fixated at the residue. He turned his attention back to the King._

"_Yes, that's right."_

_King Dedede overturned a scalded table; it was missing two of its legs and was downed in the corner. Nothing under it but more ash. Yoshi began taking notes in his head._

_Isolated building. Cleaned out. Three rooms. Ash–Interruption._

"_This is where it's supposed to be. Where they all are supposed to be."_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_Mario, and his vile band of fighters. This was their headquarters on Pop Star. They stole our Star Rod and brought it here!" Dedede dropped his hammer to the ground, flustered. _

_Yoshi had never heard of this building from Mario. He guessed he was not meant to know. _

_Broken table in corner—burnt. Two stools—burnt. Plaster walls and flooring—burnt. Carpet…neatly covered in ash–Interruption._

_An explosion in the near distance caught the group by surprise. The flames could be seen through the brush. Yelling and shouting echoed from the forest, getting closer and closer._

_Half ignoring the commotion, Yoshi knelt down on the thin strip of carpet. It was not burnt. Dedede suddenly grabbed at Yoshi and pushed him toward a wall, crumbling, and half his size. He stood next to Yoshi, where the wall was tall enough to cover his own height. He tossed him a gun. _

"_Look, I'm not exactly a soldier, sir," he protested, eyes and attention focused on the rug in front of him. _

"_You shoot what comes through the wood," He responded sternly. _

_Ten Waddle Dees. One giant bird and a hammer. Stubborn and indignant. Does not favor the Smash Brothers…whose side have I fallen into? –Interruption._

"_Put the weapons down!" King Dedede bellowed. Yoshi peeked over his cover and saw two figures stumbling through the trees. He recognized the fighters. They were Smash Brothers._

_A small rounded figure, pink in color stood with his arms raised, next to a yellow mouse-like being. Kirby and Pikachu, Yoshi assumed. _

"_Whoa hoh…calm down!" Kirby shouted, noticing his fellow Waddle Dees, "Dedede?"_

_He stepped out to reveal himself. "What did you do to my forest?"The King asked, animosity in his voice._

_Kirby looked back at the fire visible through the trees, and scratched his head. "Would you believe it was a controlled forest fire?"_

_Two Waddle Dees began to push the two smashers forward into the burned down station. _

"_Don't start with me Kirby. This is my forest, my land. These…" He pointed to all his soldiers, "…are my people."_

"_This is none of yours, 'King'," Kirby laughed bluntly, "You elected yourself, and no one even acknowledges your leadership. Or lack thereof."_

"_I'm the only one trying to protect this planet," Dedede reasoned, anger in his voice, "You brought war to us. You brought it to your own planet, Kirby. Our planet! Where's your sense of pride, of nationalism?"Kirby looked back into Dedede's hateful eyes. Yoshi could not help but notice the lugubrious hesitation between the two. Dedede broke the silence, "Where's Meta Knight, then?"_

"_He couldn't make it." Kirby answered, without much feeling._

"_Of course not…the coward…"_

_Pikachu then intervened, "Will you two stop this? We're allies!"_

"_Hardly! You are no friend of Pop Star! We did not want this war, but that did not matter to you," Dedede looked crossly at Pikachu, "No. I'm not working with you people. You stole my Star Rod and led the White Hands right to my doorstep."_

"_The Star Rod is not yours to claim, you arrogant ass," Kirby replied accusatively , "You don't own this planet!"_

_King Dedede marched up to Kirby in lifted him into the air to eye level. "What are you going to do!" The King yelled, almost desperately. "You're killing my people. Our people!"_

_He looked to Pikachu and said, "I can understand him not caring for what happens here, Kirby, this is not Kanto. I can understand Mario agreeing to murder our people, for this is not the Mushroom Kingdom. Ness and Link, they surely have no problem condoning this rape of Pop Star! This is not their HOME! It's ours!" King Dedede declared, pounding a fist to his chest. _

_Kirby had a look of isolation, of desolation, beneath his hardened exterior. A loud crack sounded through the woods and Kirby felt the grip on his neck release and he was dropped to the floor._

_Yoshi shifted in his place. "We've got a problem here."_

_Kirby looked at Dedede, who sneered back. Kirby lowered his head and picked up his weapon. The two stationed themselves on opposite sides of a scorched plaster divider, crumbling. The wall stood firm between them._

_Yoshi took note. _

_**Hyrule Castle Town, Hyrule**_

The siege had lasted all night. Link and Zelda hid patiently in the shadows of the sewers of the Hyrule underground; they waited. From the darkness they could hear the screams of the Hyrule's subjects outside. From the darkness they could smell the burning, taste the sour air in the back of their throats. From the darkness they could feel the ravaging and see the dank, damp world above. They held each other close; and they waited.

The Royal Sewers were created behind the eyes of Hyrule's denizens; little knew of the expanse of tunnels beneath the cobbled streets. Originally serving as a secret passage out of the castle, after the White Hand War, the royal administration converted the tunnels to transport waste. Now the squalid stream sludged along, sordid and scarlet. The morning sun boiled the putrid air.

"We must be nearing the hangar," Zelda whispered softly, her silken hand shielding her lower face from the smells.

Link frowned, insipid. "We could have been there last night if the Gerudos weren't above every exit." A sliver of pale light brindled the cement in front of them and Link looked up. A ladder connected to the surface; a cast iron grid plated the hole. "I have to go check if it's clear," Link spoke faintly, his eyes fixed up. As he started to climb, Zelda held his arm back.

"Don't…" she said, without conviction. Her fingers grasped lightly to his arm as he continued up the ladder. Link unhinged the iron cover and lifted it up with one hand. Leaning off the damp concrete wall, he placed his other hand under the iron and placed it silently on the street.

The street was up heaved; no soul was outside. It was eerily quiet and the wind swept Link's bangs over his eyes. He brushed them to each side of his forehead and climbed out onto the charcoal gravel. He was situated in a narrow alley; overturned wooden boxes and crates littering reams of murky paper. The alley served as a weak wind tunnel, blowing and carrying the sheets of paper into the air, swirling them, plastering them, into the stone walls on either side.

Link crept to the end of the alley. It connected to a main road that led straight into New Hyrule. A megalith of a gateway stood separating the two districts of Hyrule Castle Town; once commemorating the modernization of their feudal culture, it now loomed over Link. The sun forced a shadow upon the Hylian from behind the monument. He took a step out from the alley and heard a distant yelp. Instinctively, he shot a worried glance back toward the sewer opening, but upon hearing it growing louder his attention shifted to the gate. A burning haired woman, blouse torn down to her abdomen, was scrambling to escape two Gerudo pursuers. Her dress was rags, and a ripped apron hung on her waist. Behind her, a devilish look in their eyes, they laughed maniacally like hyenas.

Link watched as she passed. Her rough skin and dried blood on her chin, the faintness of breath as she tromped each heavy foot to the ground hard. She stumbled past the alley, allowing the beasts to close in. They passed Link and howled wildly as they approached the woman. She continued to run but she had little energy. In a matter of moments, she would be tackled, tied down, and forced to succumb to the will of the crazed animals. Link looked away, to see the gateway clear. It could be the only time he would have a free opening to get to the hangar. He looked back to the chase. They were a few houses down, and the woman would soon be caught. He shuffled away into the darkness of the alley.

The woman screamed as she hit the ground. Her wrists took the worst of the fall to protect her face, scraped and bloody. They wrestled her around and one Gerudo pinned her arms down, outstretched on either side, with his knees. The other knelt over her waist, lowering down to her face, breathing steaming breath unto her cheek.

"The little farm girl…" He hissed. "Hehhehe! You can't just run away from your friends," he hacked.

"We're animals, too, you know! Lower than your dirty fucking cows, though, I bet!" The second howled, "Scum to you, I bet!"

"Smarter than your fucking cows, huh?" The first chorused. He slapped her wrists up and down on the pavement, a wicked smiled on his face.

She fought to free herself, but had no strength. The Gerudo on her waist tore the rest of her blouse so it now draped her rib cage, and they laughed.

"I'm sure you fucked a cow before, right? We're no different, we're both animals! Beasts! We're not worth your city of greatness!" He spat.

The other chimed in, "We're forced to graze in the sand, is that it? Hehehe…You Hylians…"

She resisted, an arm freed, a smash against a steaming blackened neck. She felt a blow to the edge of her brow and her arm fell limp. She felt their fingers, their greasy warm fingers. And they laughed.

Two arrows impaled each of the animals' heads. A cry from the woman, and tears squeezed out from her wincing eyes. The two bodies crumpled down, one falling outstretched over her leg. Impulsively she convulsed backwards, to free herself. She grated her elbow against the shards of cobble stones and fell to her back. She pulled herself up in a reclined position and saw the arrow tips emerging from the foreheads of her pursuers. Chips of flesh folded from the wound. She quickly scrambled to her feet. She noticed Link in the distance, holding a bow to his side. She pulled her separated blouse across her chest, turned around and dropped her head. She ran.

Zelda ran up to Link, watching the woman head into the city. She embraced his arm. Link refitted the bow against his back.

"We have to go," He said solemnly pulling Zelda away toward the gateway, and they ran.

_**Outskirts of Rogueport, Mushroom Kingdom**_

Its walls were a molded hue of hardened clay. The portcullis was always raised, always welcoming in dirt and allowing scum to leave freely. It remained the major trade port in the Mushroom Kingdom, despite its rapid decline in appearance after Wario took up residence years before when the White Hand War ended. A self declared ruler of the city, and from what Mario heard, Wario was known as a tyrant and a despot to some, but Lord to all. Most of the city was a slum, now, save Wario's district. Greed, filth, and corruption spread like disease. Rogueport.

"What exactly did the note say about Luigi?" Yoshi asked Mario, eyeing the city before them distastefully.

"Next to nothing," Mario replied, "All that was written was that Luigi was seen inside the city walls."

"That's a bit suspicious, don't you think?"

Mario nodded in agreement, "But he's my brother. The way I see it, whoever wrote this note knows where my brother is. Even if it is a trap, they must know something."

Yoshi looked unsatisfied. He felt whoever wrote the note was capitalizing off of Mario's emotions, knowing he would go anywhere to find his brother. But Yoshi could not sway Mario's mind, nor was it Yoshi's place to interfere.

Yoshi stood next to Mario, and took note. His friend was always calm and composed, as he was presently. He followed through with each of his decisions with resolute conviction. Even now, there was no wavering in his demeanor. He was certainly certain, all of the time.

"It's been a while since I've seen Wario," Mario said, "I'll run into him for sure."

"Yup," Yoshi said with a frown.

Mario looked to Yoshi speculatively. "You don't have to come with me."

Yoshi faked a smile, "No, I'm with you."

"You hold no more allegiance to me, Yoshi; I've been telling you that for years." Mario responded.

"Yup."

"Alright, then. Let's go."

As soon as they stepped near the gate, a mob of Koopa Troopers were dragging a cloaked figure outside. Stony, oversized helmets rattled on their bald, green heads, and each carried primeval hammers on their waist. The cloaked figure refrained from struggling. He was carried down the sand and rock trail leading away from the city. When they group passed Mario, the prisoner turned his head. A green rodent nose poked out from under the brown, cloth hood, his beady eyes barely visible. A sly smile stretched across his face. He spoke.

"This is far enough, thank you," he said to his captors.

The leading trooper held up his arm to halt the rest of the group. "Excuse me? You don't get to speak, you've been tried and found guilty by Lord Wario himself, you treasonous little Mouser. "

"Treason? Against what, against whom? Wario does not own this city, if that's what you mean, he does not own you," the mouse remained collected, "You're free to let me go. And I would warn you to listen to that shred of advice."

"Who do you think you are, you rat?" The Koopa's voice rose, "You can't tell me what to do now. You're not the 'great thief' anymore Moustafa, you're just a criminal on his way to the gallows."

"I disagree." He said, waiting for the leading Koopa to push his way through the troopers holding him down. The two restraining his arms dropped the mouse so that he lay upside down, his feet still held up by another trooper. The leading Koopa knelt down to level his face with his prisoner.

"You disagree?" He chuckled, arrogantly.

"Most wholeheartedly." Arms now free, the prisoner grasped and unhooked the hammer from the Koopa's waist and in a fluid motion smash it against his chin. As the Koopa fell to the ground, Moustafa twisted his feet free and dropped to the ground. On his back, the three Koopas crowded around. Grabbing hold of one of their ankles, he pulled himself through his legs. He managed to disarm the Koopa of his hammer as he shot up to his feet.

One mouse, two hammers. Clever, skilled. Four Koopas, two hammers. Dim, grunts. Fair fight, possibly. Yoshi took note.

Moustafa stood, wielding hammers in both hands, anticipating the next moves of the four Koopas. The head Koopa stole a hammer from one of his subordinates and rushed at the mouse, wildly heaving the hammer in downward arcs. Moustafa quickly sidestepped around the charging turtle and landed a blow on his captor's kneecap. Wailing in pain, the Koopa dropped to the ground. The other holding his hammer ran forward. Immediately he felt the bones splintering in his weapon hand and the back of his knee buckling down. In an attempt to turn around to meet his attacker, his face was greeted with the blur of cloth apparel and a hammer crushing his cheek bone.

One mouse, still two hammers. Two Koopas, disabled on ground. Two Koopas running back to city. Yoshi took note.

Moustafa took aim at his fleeing captors. He hurled a hammer, knocking one to the ground. He scrambled to his feet and scampered away out of range. The mouse lowered his second hammer and let it drop on the ground. He took notice of the two Koopas writhing on the path before him. He shook his head and pulled his cloth hood back over his head. He turned to Mario and Yoshi, watching a few feet away. Moustafa pointed toward Mario.

"You, we must flee from here." He motioned for Mario to follow as he jogged toward the south wall of Rogueport, the coastline. Noticing his apprehension, Moustafa spoke again, "You look for Luigi?"

"Wha..? How do you…?"

Moustafa gestured again with his hand, while jogging farther from the gateway. He did not make another attempt to coax Mario, and continued making his way down the south wall.

"Well?" Yoshi asked.

Without an answer, Mario hurried behind path of the hooded mouse. Yoshi glanced back at the gate and saw a unit of troopers marching toward the downed Koopas outside. In a moment, Yoshi was soon behind his friend, following a mysterious mouse down the squalid sewers of the crime ridden Rogueport.


	10. Passion and Trust

_Five years ago..._

"_The Star Rod is not yours to claim, you arrogant ass," Kirby replied accusatively, "You don't own this planet!"_

_King Dedede marched up to Kirby in lifted him into the air to eye level. "What are you going to do!" The King yelled, almost desperately. "You're killing my people. Our people!"_

_He looked to Pikachu and said, "I can understand him not caring for what happens here, Kirby, this is not Kanto. I can understand Mario agreeing to murder our people, for this is not the Mushroom Kingdom. Ness and Link, they surely have no problem condoning this rape of Pop Star! This is not their HOME! It's ours!" King Dedede declared, pounding a fist to his chest. _

_Kirby did not know how to react. He looked deep into the eyes of the patriot; they were filled with pride, blinded with pseudo-altruism. A crack of a tree stabbed at his ears and Kirby was dropped to the ground. From the floor, Kirby looked up._

"_We've got a problem here," he heard Dedede's newest accomplice state nervously. _

_Kirby looked at Dedede, who sneered back. Kirby looked down to find his weapon, and picked it up. He noticed Dedede standing back to the side of a free standing wall near the exterior perimeter of the building. He ran to the other side and took cover there. His back scraped against the rough surface; it itched under his skin. _

_An explosion stung through the air and Kirby and Dedede clasped their ears. _

"_RPG's!" Someone yelled out from behind. Another eruption sprayed the terrain into the building, covering Kirby's small figure in earthen grey. Kirby spun himself around and began furiously scratching the ash out of his eyes. Bullets were screaming around him; everyone had their weapons point to the forest. Yoshi was on the floor, over a carpet, sweeping up ash with his fingers. Kirby watched him peel up the end of it. A hatch lay under it; Yoshi looked up and saw Kirby._

"_Wha…?"Kirby started before another explosion rocked Kirby forward onto his stomach. He looked up to see the dinosaur spring up and sprint out the back door. Kirby let out a dry, hoarse, yell and picked himself up. As soon as his feet were grounded, Kirby ran after him. Pikachu was the first to notice Kirby running out. Dedede was the next to notice him running away. _

_Pikachu looked at the soldier slowly advancing from the forest, and the walls of cover crumbling down, and at Dedede who stood firm screaming out orders to his minions; his arm was outstretched toward the invaders, his mouth was fixed open at a wide angle, almost unnatural. Pikachu dropped to his hands and scurried from the building, soon to be ruined._

"_Cowards! You're all cowards….you're all…you're…" The words echoed in Pikachu's head. He did not stop. _

_It did not take long to catch up with Kirby. He was hunched over a tree stump, wheezing for air. _

"_Who the hell was that?" Kirby managed between breathes._

_Gunfire ceased, and the explosions stopped. It was the last Kirby or Pikachu would ever see the King. The ruined outpost, the ashen carpet, the hidden hatch. The silence in the forest. _

"_Cowards…cowar…cow…"_

_It was quiet, regardless._

_**The Halberd**_

He woke up to that same silence.

The bed was hard, the walls brown and warm, and the ceiling was laced with bronzed tubes. There was no one around him. He tried to sit up, but his shoulder lit up in pain. He let out a quick yelp and dropped back on the mattress. A bloodied bandage wrapped up his arm to his neck. It was a small room, with only one door—closed—and copper tiles spread the floor. Kirby delicately propped himself up.

He called out, "Anyone here?"

Kirby slowly became more conscious of his surroundings. While there were no windows in the room, he could tell he was on a ship now; he could feel the room treading through space. He swung his legs over the side of the cot and began to recognize his surroundings. This was Meta-Knight's cruiser. His mind started backtracking, searching for his short term memory. He was escaping Trumann's ship, he was in the hangar with Mewtwo and Pikachu, and Pikachu, in the back of the shuttle, red lights flashing, ship shaking, Pikachu in his arms, bleeding.

Pikachu…

His memories were overflowing his mind now. Recollection was crashing up like waves in a hurricane. Water was ceaselessly washing over everything else, permeating all throughout his head. It was seeping out his eyes. He remembered it all.

_**New Hyrule, Hyrule Castle Town**_

Link and Zelda waded through the alleys of New Hyrule, making their way closer to the Royal Hangar. While it was their destination, Link knew already that the hangar would most likely be under Ganondorf's control. It had been at least half a day since they left the castle.

Link pushed open a heavy door and led Zelda inside. The buildings in New Hyrule were updated and more modern; Link could not feel the straw rustling against the soles of his feet attributed to the cabins and huts in the older part of town. The poured concrete was hard against his feet, and matched the same dull shade of gray that covered the walls. They had entered a factory, stuffed with machinery and conveyor belts and metal chimneys scaling the walls.

"'Git out of her'!" An angry whisper from behind.

Link turned around to see a small group of seven gruff workers standing, half hidden behind the metal contraptions. They were all men, covered in dirty, and rough looking. They all were matching suits, indicative of their affiliation to the factory. They carried wrenches and pipes as weapons.

"'Git out before dey noticed you come in her'!" He cried hoarsely, directly a wrench at the two.

"No one saw us, be assured," Link said, holding his hands out.

"I dun' care, I'm not riskin' it," the man with the wrench said. He wore a blue cap and his sleeves were rolled up to display tufts of black hair down his arm. His beard was short and scraggly. The mustache pointed out on either side, horizontal, straight and aligned. He appeared to be leading the men, as he stood ahead of the rest. "Now 'git!"

"We're trying to get to the hangar docks, do you know anything about the Gerudos down that way?"

"Gerudos? Dat's who's dese bastards are?"

Link noticed his ears were rounded; they were not Hyrulian. "Are you...how long have you lived here? Are you Akaneians or…"

The man in the blue cap interrupted him, "We hail for'm Elibe, for'm the mountains of Ilia. We jus' got her' two days prior, and now we're fightin' for ah'lives. Dere are sojers all ova'. We count ah'selves a'lucky, dey got bullets flyin' from de guns, too."

"Guns?" Zelda looked at Link and whispered to him, "Gerudos and Hylians and sworn off the use of modern technology, that cannot be!"

Link nodded. He noticed a sheepishly delicate looking man, his hair was groomed well and his skin spotless and smooth. He had been hidden behind the other men. His ears were pointed. Link addressed him, "You there, you're Hylian are you not?"

He gave Link a fearful look and nodded slightly.

"What did these men look like, the ones with the guns?"

"Dunt bother talkin' to him, he hadn't speaked since we found him her'."

"You must understand, we cannot go back out before knowing what we are up against. If they have guns, we need to know all the details," Link stated, agitated.

"White armor, for'm head to toe," the man in the cap said gruffly, "Dey are workin' wiff dose Gerudo folk, so fars as we kin tell. Now lit us be, would ya?"

Link took a last glance at the Hylian, who diverted his gaze to the ground. He was massaging his hands nervously at his waist. Link took Zelda by her hand and led her to the door. She tried to protest but Link pulled her along. He opened the door and on the other side was a soldier clad in white, his hand raised and ready to knock on the door. Close behind him stood two Gerudos. Shocked, the soldier lifted his gun. Link had already unsheathed his sword and quickly swept his arm down, slicing free hand from wrist. The soldier bellowed out a cry, and Link stepped back and thrust his sword forcefully forward. His voice was extinguished, and the soldier crumpled to the ground. The Gerudos behind lunged forward at Link, pushing him back through the doorway and into the factory.

Link stumbled back into Zelda, knocking her off her feet and into a nearby barrel. The wood cracked open as she landed; sand poured out over her from inside. Link struggled to break free from the two Gerudos, successfully freeing himself from one of their grasps by throwing him off him toward the middle of the floor. With his hand free, he shot his fist up into the jaw of the other Gerudo. A loud crack and a shout. Link felt a blow to his side and fell to a knee. A smash to his cheek sent him sprawling onto the hard concrete. Out of breath, Link looked up through his wounded eye to see the Gerudo standing over him, a smile on his face as twisted as the dagger in his hand. He stabbed down toward Link, who positioned his hands on either side of the Gerudo's wrist. Before the blade could pierce his flesh, Link punched the back of the Gerudo's wrist, causing him to drop his weapon. It clattered on the ground. Link felt the Gerudo drop his head onto his own; he almost lost consciousness. The pressure of the Gerudos body was slightly lifted and then he heard the knife scrape off the ground. The dagger loomed over his head, fixed in his eyes. A sharp light flared from the dagger tip and it dropped down.

Metal clanked against the concrete. The light still shone through Link's closed eyes. When he opened them, the Gerudo sat on his lap, frozen. An arrow, vivaciously shining, was impaled through his heart. Zelda pushed the body to the side, and as Link weakly sat up, she embraced him. Screaming was audible still; behind them, they turned to see the migrant workers brutally beating the other Gerudo to death. It was on the ground writhing, the pack of workers outnumbered the wounded animal seven to one. Link felt sand sifting through Zelda's hair onto his clothes.

"The White Hands are coming back," whispered a high pitched voice. It was the delicate looking Hylian next to them.

"That's impossible," Zelda answered back, shaking her head at the man.

"They are led by an admiral," he said meekly, looking over to the dead soldier in white at the doorway, "He's a tall, treacherous looking man. He had been collecting musicians, for what I cannot say. I only escaped amongst the chaos, when a bomb dropped nearby our cells. I ran, and ran away from my friends, I didn't even look back…"

He was speaking to the ground, now, but picked his trailing voice back up, "If you plan to reach the hangars, I hope you are better armed than this. That admiral's troops are all around this district. It's where he set up his camp, with the Dark Lord Ganondorf following his every order…"

Zelda solemnly nodded. "Thank you for your words, kind citizen; however, they are grim."

A voice thundered from the doorway, and all heads turned to it, "And there you are!"

His dark, yellow-fire, eyes stared into Zelda's. His beard, orange and burning, strapped his chin and reached up to his hair, wrapping around his head. Ganondorf let out a booming laugh.

"If you didn't save that farm girl earlier, I probably wouldn't be out looking for the man that allowed for her escape. But," he sighed, "You're a hero, that's what heroes do, I suppose. Too bad, though."

He stepped over the soldier on the doorstep disdainfully, and looked upon the workers crowded around the disfigured Gerudo in the back. With a frown, he outstretched his hand toward them, palm in front. A dark purple aura generated from his palm into a ball of black energy. The sphere shot from his hand and crashed into the man in the blue cap, purple waves and veins discharged as it made contact. An eruption of dark magic hurled the workers through the mess of metal machinery with tremendous power. Bones cracked with the metal bits and yelps echoed for a few short moments. Ganondorf scoffed.

"Those wild, craven, beasts. And you're the civilized folk?" Getting a better look at his fallen soldiers, Ganondorf spoke again, ambivalently, "Those were some of my best men. What a shame."

"What are you doing Ganondorf?" Link coughed out through his swollen face, "What is this talk of the White Hands?"

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow, "Well, no reason in really hiding anything from you, right? Look kid, as much as you'd hate to admit it, all is not peaceful in the land of Hyrule. If you could just try to understand where I'm coming from, then listen. I don't like the desert. It's hot and dry, the water is sparse, and the sand fucking itches. Everywhere. All the fucking time."

"What does that have to do with us?"

"You all sit here on your throne like you're better than us or something. I just don't think that's true. So I'm here to fix that. My people are going to get the treatment they deserve, oh Hero of Time."

Ganondorf stepped closer to Zelda, still holding tightly to Link. Link reached for his sword laying a few feet from his personage.

"Don't do that," Ganondorf voiced resentment. A small sphere of dark energy burst from the warlock's palm, scorching Link's hand. Link bit his lip; blood seeped onto the back of his tongue.

"Why can't you just be like this guy Link?" Ganondorf said, referring to the musician lying with his head between his legs on the floor, shaking involuntarily. He was frantically humming a peculiarly calming song, nervously sobbing between breaks in the melody.

"He's a smart man," Ganondorf said with a laugh, as he grabbed Zelda's silken arm. Upon contact, he immediately felt the sand on her flesh.

"Let go of me!" Zelda yelled, stabbing out a light arrow hidden in her sleeve. Ganondorf felt the arrow slice his left hand. It reopened the small wound he noticed before, and now a shallow gash ran across the back of his hand. He pulled her roughly past him and to the doorway.

"No! Link!"

He shoved her into the arms of a Gerudo, "Take her outside. Restrain her. Do not let her out of your sight. Do this now," Ganondorf spoke in deadly earnest.

He turned back to Link, lying on the ground and clutching his wrist.

"She's a keeper, huh?" Ganondorf said coyly, inspecting the wound on his hand. Sand had entered inside, stinging his nerves. He waved his hand and looked back to Link, "Shouldn't leave a scar, thank the goddesses."

"Let her go, Ganondorf! Why not take me instead, you dastard!" Link shouted, hatred in his voice.

"That's no way to talk to your new King, my humble subject," Ganondorf smiled, "Besides, the Princess is going to be my queen, legitimizing my claim to the throne. She will bare my children and Gerudos will finally have a place in your precious kingdom. No more discrimination will befall my race!"

"The discrimination you speak of is not based on your race but of your cultural practices, Ganondorf! You lead your people through crime, corruption, and brutality! They know nothing but violence, wild creatures held back by the leash you hold!"

"Speak ill of my people as you wish, but look behind you," Ganondorf roared, "Look at the maimed body, desecrated and mutilated beyond recognition! The similarities between us our astounding aren't they? It's remorseful. We are all built the same, hero. We are built as killers. At least you are." Ganondorf pointed to the soldier near the door, and the dismembered hand, and the blood that was staining the street.

"You can't deny that, boy. You're as much as a killer as me," Ganondorf chuckled softly.

"Ganondorf…" Link's voice rose slightly with each syllable of his foe's name, "Do what you will with me, but leave Zelda out of this. You cannot use her as you might your deluded Gerudo brethren."

"On the contrary, hero, she's my ticket to power here. If I am betrothed to her, I will be the next King. I just told you this, in case you forgot. There will be a new royal bloodline running through Hyrule's veins. And that leaves little necessity for the ascribed Hero of Time, don't you think? This kingdom doesn't need courage when it has wisdom and power, boy."

Ganondorf turned around and walked back to the door. He looked back to Link lying on the ground, and said, "This war is different, kid. It ain't just good and evil anymore. You'd do well to remember that, if you are still breathing come tomorrow."

Before he could walk out, Link coughed out weakly, "You're aligning with the wrong people. Whatever you desire, they will strip away. You'd do well to remember, if they let you live, come tomorrow."

Ganondorf paused in the doorway. He forced out a laugh, and faced a muscular Gerudo guard, wielding a long halberd. "Wait here for Trumann. Don't let that fool squirm even an inch. I'm going back to the castle with the Princess."

The guard saluted and Ganondorf took his leave.

_**The Halberd **_

"He may have rescued you, but don't think he has forgotten your past together, Kirby."

Admiral Vul was leading Kirby through the bronzed-amber halls of Meta-Knight's mammoth of a cruiser. He appeared to be flustered, for his feathers were standing at end. It was obvious the Halberd had just escaped from a space battle; crates and various ship parts were overturned in the tunnels, and Kirby had to be careful not to trip on the debris.

"In fact, don't think any of us particularly enjoy your presence here, star warrior. I for one would've protested against rescuing you if it was just you in that shuttle, you know."

Kirby remained solemnly silent. His mind was focused on Pikachu. He could not remember anything past Pikachu's final words in the shuttle. He must have blacked out.

"This ship took a hell of a beating, too, thanks to you. But, of course, with my expertise I was able to avoid disaster. Once I opened fire on those scallywags, they went into disarray! Those pups are still wet behind the ears, I'd say."

_I tempt the elm foe_… Pikachu would have been right; Mewtwo surely would have been listening in on what Pikachu was saying. He had exhibited his psychic abilities prior in the war five years ago, primarily extracting vital information from the minds of unsuspecting soldiers. Pikachu had put his full trust into Mewtwo.

"I bet they never even saw the laser blasts, or the homing missiles, or the concussion bombs coming. That's why I call it the Combo Cannon, after all. I can get that sucker to reap all kinds of destruction! Most people have trouble operating such a complicated machine, you know?"

Kirby assumed Pikachu's words were a clue to where the Guardian hid his crystal shard. He would just have to decipher what it meant. And before Mewtwo did.

"Those Waddle_ doofuses_ wouldn't be able work those complex controls, that's for sure. Nope. I don't mean to boast, but, I mean, you are standing here now aren't you? Only goes to show how skilled I can be."

Kirby now wondered of Pichu and Jigglypuff. Pichu had been a student under Pikachu since the war ended five years ago. And Pikachu also mentioned the phrase "edge of power", mortified while muttering it. He needed to speak with Pichu.

"Hey, through this door," Vul commanded. Kirby stepped in, and the admiral followed behind. A large ovular table filled the majority of the room, and blank panel covered the back wall. Chairs were lined along the table; Meta-Knight sat at the head, with Fox sitting at his right. Pichu and Jigglypuff were seated together on his left. Kirby was confused at the presence of the captain of the Great Fox.

"What are you doing here?" Kirby asked him. Before he could get an answer, Meta-Knight spoke.

"We will get to that. First, about Pikachu. I hope you will accept my condolences; there was nothing we could have done here. He was dead before we intercepted your shuttle. Second, in regards to your escape, as you may have deduced, the Halberd was able to rescue you before the White Faction forces were able to shoot down your ship. You were unconscious when we docked your ship in our hangar, and you sustained a bullet wound in your upper shoulder."

"You two doing okay?" Kirby cut in, to ask Jigglypuff and Pichu. Pichu nodded and Jigglypuff forced a smile. Meta-Knight cleared his throat.

"We need to work together now. Forget our past. The six of us here are a team, now." Meta-Knight looked down, as if in thought, then up to his admiral. "How is ROB doing?"

"Ah…just making minors repairs now, sir! Should be fit for work by the morning!" Vul squawked out.

Meta-Knight nodded and continued his speech, "Then we will know our course of action tomorrow. However, from what I understand, the White Faction is after the crystal shards. We need to locate them, and secure them. Fox, you must remember where hid yours?"

Fox confirmed with a nod.

"You will need to get it. Where is it?"

Pichu held up his hand, and interrupted Fox with a shout, directed at Meta-Knight. "Wait! I just watched Pikachu die because Mewtwo betrayed us! What's to say you're not going to do the same?"

Meta-Knight slowly bobbed his head, accepting Pichu's statement. He looked to Fox, "You must retrieve it on your own, then. Do not utter its location to any one of the former Smashers. But I submit to each of you reason to trust us all. Pichu, Kirby, and Jigglypuff, you were all marked for death by the White Faction. And for Fox, only Falco and ROB escaped the destruction of the Great Fox with him. His shipmates are dead, General Pepper and Wolf also died in front of his eyes."

"What?" Kirby shouted in an outburst, "Fox, is this true?"

"Y…yes. Falco left with Samus to inform the other Guardians before the Faction got to them, too. I…I'm sorry."

"Then what about you?" Kirby asked, looking at Meta-Knight, "What happened to you to merit our trust?"

Meta-Knight spoke plainly. "I saved your life."

Kirby stared into his rival's dark mask. Among the other Smashers, there was no debating Meta-Knight's noble and honorable demeanor; however, only Kirby and knew him before the war. They had been fierce enemies once; the masked warrior hardly a beacon of repute. The Halberd was built years ago with the sole purpose of raining havoc on the people of Pop Star. Meta-Knight changed one day, though. It was impossible for Kirby not to recognize that. But it was also hard for him to be able to see such a ship like the Halberd as a stalwart fortress of justice, when he witnessed the destruction it was capable of before first hand on Pop Star. Kirby held his breath before letting himself speak.

"We need to go to Pop Star first. I know where one of the shards is. But it's not safe to go alone, not with all those Faction soldiers loitering about."

Meta-Knight brought a hand to his chin, pondering Kirby's proposal. "I will accompany you, if you would have it."

Kirby looked at Fox, expecting him to join up, too. But he remained quiet, afraid.

"We shouldn't waste any more time. We need to go as soon as possible. We get back by the morning, learn what we will from ROB, since I assume he will have some data we can use, and then Fox can go about collecting his star. Everyone else stay here then until we get back."

"Admiral Vul, prepare the transport ships in the hangar."

The Admiral saluted his captain and rushed out of the room. The rest of the inhabitants arose from their chairs and exited, as well. Meta-Knight put a hand on Kirby's healthy shoulder to stop him.

"I trust you. Meet me in the hangar as soon as you are ready."

He promptly walked off with Fox following closely behind him. Kirby stopped Pichu and Jigglypuff when the others were out of view and hurried them into a room. As he closed the door behind them, the air in the room was humid and hot and steam pressed against their bodies. It was a small room to vent some heat from the boilers below.

"Write this down somewhere, or remember it, or whatever, okay?" Kirby said, holding the two Pokemon closely. "Pikachu whispered to me a clue to the whereabouts of his shard. '_I tempt the elm foe'. _Remember that, figure out what it means. I'll see you guys when I get back." Kirby turned to get the door when he hit his shoulder on a pipe shooting down from the ceiling. He winced in pain and dropped his grip on the door knob.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Jigglypuff asked, concerned for her friend.

Kirby flashed a smile and nodded, "I've gotta go down and get that star piece, before the Trumann and his cronies manage to find it. Just figure out that clue before Mewtwo does, there's no way he didn't pick up on it with his psycho-mind tricks. I'll be fine. I'll be back by morning, I promise you two."

He opened the door hesitantly, "And keep an eye on Vul, alright? He's an arrogant ass."

Kirby stepped out into the hallway and made his way down the bronze corridor, lit with a fiery glow. His feet plodded along the radiant, auburn tiles. The debris had been since cleared from the hall revealing the grand and stable interior of the ship. The Halberd had always displayed its powerhouse image, and Kirby never once doubted its purpose. The ship was a warrior masked behind an extravagant mask. Kirby felt he knew what he was looking at.

A pipe was fractured lining the ceiling. Steam and water sprayed out, hissing as it spattered the bronze. The metal was now beginning to rust.


End file.
